However, before the Hundred Sect Alliance could escape Void Land, thick clouds rapidly permeated ahead of them. They did not notice it at first, and entered the fog bank one after another. For a moment, they could not see anything, and their Divine Senses were suppressed to a great extent. They lost their sense of direction just like headless flies.
[Why does this situation look so familiar?]
This was clearly the Bewildering Array at the periphery of Void Land. Earlier, they were obstructed by this Bewildering Array when they came in from the outside, but Luan Bai Feng managed to crack it, allowing them to invade.
Everyone was appalled. They could not understand how this array could be reactivated again after it was cracked.
Kong Feng was clueless too. On the ship, he turned to Luan Bai Feng and bellowed, “Junior Sister Luan, what is happening?”
Luan Bai Feng’s stunning face turned sullen, “We fell into that Brat’s trap again. He must have intentionally deactivated the Bewildering Array before.”
She thought that she had cracked the Bewildering Array of Void Land, but by the looks of it now, the little bastard must have tricked her by removing it as she was working on it, luring them into the lion’s den. Since they attempted to escape now, he certainly could reactivate the Bewildering Array to stop them from running away.
Upon this realization, Luan Bai Feng clenched her pristine teeth so hard that they almost cracked. As the Black Prison’s Warden, she had never been fooled like this before in her life. She was maddened with rage.
Kong Feng asked anxiously, “Junior Sister, do you think you can crack the array?”
“I’ll try.” Luan Bai Feng replied with a solemn face, not daring to be too confident.
It was not like she gained nothing from observing the tremendous transformations of the Bewildering Array from the outside earlier. She found some details about the Bewildering Array, and she might be able to succeed if she focused on cracking it.
Her beautiful violet eyes flickered again as she stared at the Grand Array intently.
Shortly, Luan Bai Feng frowned deeply. She vaguely found that this Bewildering Array seemed to be dissimilar to the one she had previously cracked, but she could not tell the difference.
With her extraordinary attainments in the Dao of Spirit Arrays, Luan Bai Feng could tell that the Bewildering Array this time was truly different from that of earlier. The Bewildering Array earlier only had the might of an independent Spirit Array, but the Bewildering Array at this moment…
In the mists, two small figures appeared side by side. Pu Bai Xiong patted Little Mushroom’s and announced, “It’s time!”
“En.” After a quiet but firm response, Little Mushroom shook her body lightly and countless tiny spores undetectable by Divine Sense spread out, quickly integrating into the Grand Array.
The Bewildering Array of Nine Heavenly Layers had an Array Core, and it was a living Array Core, which was Little Mushroom. Little Mushroom was the Profound Multi-Coloured Illusionary Mushroom, born with innate hallucinatory powers; therefore, after the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array was completed, when Grandmaster Wu Liang introduced its various functions, Yang Kai decided to place Little Mushroom in the Bewildering Array as its Core.
When the Hundred Sect Alliance launched their first attack, Yang Kai only activated the Bewildering Array in passive mode and did not unleash its active effects. One of the reasons was to keep its full potential a secret, while the other was to lure the enemy into a trap.
Since the enemy was attempting to escape now, it was naturally needless to hide this card anymore.
A Bewildering Array without an Array Core was just a Bewildering Array, but once the Core was activated, it evolved into an Illusion Array! There was a great difference between the two, with the latter being an order of magnitude more powerful. As such, Luan Bai Feng could not be blamed for not being able to see through it in short order.
The countless tiny spores suffused into the Grand Array, which drastically increased its effectiveness.
Many flight-type artifacts were lost in the Illusion Array, and many cultivators inhaled the spores into their lungs, unaware. Soon, they began to experience hallucinations.
Yang Kai was also affected by Little Mushroom in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, but he managed to overcome it by relying on his Golden Crow’s True Fire and Soul Warming Lotus. If not for these two factors, he would have suffered a fatal disaster.
Although there were still many cultivators left in the Hundred Sect Alliance, how many people could resist the hallucinogenic power of the Profound Multi-Coloured Illusionary Mushroom?
Aboard a certain ship, one cultivator’s eyes suddenly turned bloodshot. He raised his hand to summon his sword artifact before swinging it down. Blood spurted, and the person, who was slashed by the sword, stared at his Senior Brother in disbelief, not understanding what had just happened.
On a different ship, a woman fell into a pool of blood and sobbed desperately, “Senior Brother, didn’t you say you loved me? Why…” Before she could finish, another sword light flashed, and her head flew up into the sky.
Chaos erupted aboard every flight-type artifact almost immediately. The weaker cultivators soon lost their senses and started summoning their artifacts to kill the allies they could no longer recognize.
Only the Open Heaven Realm Masters could put up some resistance. They surged their World Force to protect their bodies as soon as they realized something was wrong. Facing the disciples who charged at them fearlessly, they were instantly caught in a dilemma, for they could not decide whether to kill them or not!
From Void Land’s side, led by Pang Duo and the others, the 300-plus Open Heaven Realm Masters soared up into the sky again and charged into the Grand Array to start killing.
This time, Lu Xue, Yun Xing Hua, and the other former captives joined in too. Although they had been imprisoned before, their lives were not in danger, nor were they beaten or tortured. Luan Bai Feng had kept them safe, for she needed them to serve as ore slaves; any damage they suffered would be a net loss for her. Furthermore, they consumed Spirit Pills and rested for a while, so they were almost fully recovered.
It was natural for them to feel the need to avenge their previous humiliation.
The spectacle of blood and corpses raining endlessly like dumplings dropping into a pot was quite shocking.
Aboard Heavenly Sword Union’s ship, Kong Feng was as white as a sheet as he stared up at the swirling mists with so much rage he almost coughed up blood.
[It’s over. It’s completely over. My alliance came to attack Void Land confidently but ended up in such a miserable state… If word of this spreads, what would happen to the reputation of my Heavenly Sword Union?]
[How can there be so many Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land? How can they all be so powerful? How can there be so many functions to the Grand Array here?]
Kong Feng was sharp-eyed and managed to stop his ship in time, preventing it from falling completely into the Illusion Array. But now, there were only seven or eight ships left outside of the Illusion Array. These ships noticed the dire situation too, and gathered around Heavenly Sword Union seeking some sense of security.
Luan Bai Feng had given up looking for ways to crack the Grand Array. Since so many Open Heaven Realm Masters from Void Land had rushed inside and started a massacre, there was no way she could help even if she found some flaws in it.
However, she was still a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master who was proficient in the Dao of Spirit Arrays. She was confident that if she wanted to leave, the Grand Array of Void Land could not stop her from doing so.
However, after coming all the way here, how could she be willing to return home empty-handed?
Looking down, Luan Bai Feng stated, “Union Master Kong, given the situation now, there’s only one solution.”
Infuriated and red-eyed, Kong Feng asked, “What’s that?”
Luan Bai Feng glanced at Yang Kai, “In order to destroy an army, take the general’s head! Although that boy is only an Emperor Realm Junior, it’s clear the Open Heaven Realm Masters of Void Land follow his lead without question. If we capture him as a hostage, we can force the others to surrender and turn this situation around.”
Kong Feng’s mind was blinded by rage. Seeing the Hundred Sect Alliance suffering great losses, and knowing that his Heavenly Sword Union and his reputation would be gravely affected in the future, he had panicked for a moment. However, after listening to Luan Bai Feng’s suggestion, he instantly came back to his senses.
He nodded seriously, “What Junior Sister Luan says is true, but that brat is guarded by two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters…”
All of the Open Heaven Realm Masters from Void Land had rushed into the Illusion Array to slaughter the enemy, leaving only Mo Mei and Yue He behind to guard Yang Kai. After all, Yang Kai was still just an Emperor Realm cultivator who did not have the qualifications to participate in this kind of battle.
Luan Bai Feng chuckled, “Judging from how those two women moved just now, they must have just advanced into the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm recently, meaning they still cannot display their full strength. This Junior Sister can restrain one for you. As for the other one…” While speaking, Luan Bai Feng turned to look at the ships around them and continued with a faint smile, “We still have so many people. Why should we be afraid of her?”
Kong Feng’s eyes lit up, he could not help grinning, “That brat is too arrogant. He’s really courting death!”
There were so many Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land, so if he retained some by his side, Kong Feng really wouldn’t be able to do anything to him. However, now that almost all of the Open Heaven Realm Masters of Void Land had rushed into the Illusion Array, leaving just the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters back to protect him, this was a great opportunity.
Kong Feng swept his eyes across all the Open Heaven Realm Masters still with him and immediately made the deployment.
After making the decision, Kong Feng quickly led his remaining people to attack Yang Kai again without delay, not wanting to give time to the Open Heaven Realm Masters of Void Land to return and interfere.
His only worry now was the Offensive Grand Array of Void Land!
The previous sword light had frightened him greatly. If Luan Bai Feng had not summoned three Defensive Array Plates at the critical moment, he could have died to that attack while Heavenly Sword Union’s ship would definitely have been destroyed, and his subordinates would have been severely wounded or killed.
However, when he thought about it carefully, the energy consumed by such an Offensive Grand Array could not be trivial. Void Land was newly established, and the Spirit Array must have only been completed recently, so the energy that it had in reserve was probably extremely limited.
Since Void Land had operated the Grand Array so many times already, it probably would not be able to launch another strike again.
Even if the energy was sufficient, it may be difficult for Yang Kai, an Emperor Realm Master to act alone. Kong Feng clearly saw that when the Offensive Grand Array was launched, Yang Kai and Yue He had worked together to activate it.
In other words, as long as they could keep Yue He occupied and distract her from cooperating with Yang Kai, Kong Feng did not need to have any worries.
Yang Kai alone was not a threat. He could easily crush that brat to death with just a finger!
From Void Land, Yang Kai looked up and saw that the eight ships were rushing to him furiously under Kong Feng’s lead, “That old dog is at his wits’ end!”
He quickly sent a Divine Sense transmission to Yue He and Mo Mei. Immediately after, Yue He shook her head rapidly like a pellet drum and objected, “Young Master, no, it’s too dangerous!”
Mo Mei nodded too, and advised, “Sect Master, all of us Void Land depends on you. If anything were to happen…”
If Yang Kai died, Void Land would completely collapse. Now that the people who came out of Abundance City finally found a place to call home, how could they take such a risk?
Yang Kai chuckled playfully, “How is it dangerous? Don’t forget about our Void Land’s real trump card. If my life is in danger, I don’t believe she will remain a bystander!”
The true trump card of Void Land was not its 300 new Open Heaven Realm Masters, or even the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array, but rather the Divine Spirit hidden in its depths, Zhu Jiu Yin!
Yang Kai was unsure how much power this woman could unleash currently, but he was certain that she could definitely match a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Judging by the standards of the 3,000 Worlds, a mature Divine Spirits possessed strength at least on par with the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm, just like the Golden Crow and Mie Meng.
It was just that Zhu Jiu Yin was a Divine Spirit that was born and raised in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. Although Yang Kai brought her out of that place, due to the differences in World Principles between the two worlds, she needed a long period of time to adapt before she could unleash her full strength.
It was hard to tell how much she had acclimated by now.
As Yang Kai’s Protector, she took an oath on her Source to protect him. Nonetheless, the oath was conditional. Only when Yang Kai’s life was in mortal danger would Zhu Jiu Yin take action. If Yang Kai was the one who provoked others or he encountered troubles during his adventures outside, Zhu Jiu Yin would not care about him.
Yang Kai was someone who liked to roam free, a fact Zhu Jiu Yin knew well, so she made sure to clearly set out such terms with him. Otherwise, she would have to follow Yang Kai around and guard him at all times. How could she permit such a thing? How could a noble Divine Spirit Heavenly Moon Demon Spider become a mere bodyguard? She really did not want to lose her status because of this hateful man.
To be honest, Zhu Jiu Yin could not wait for Yang Kai to die outside and not return anymore. That way, she could immediately get rid of the constraints of the oath.
However, they were in Void Land, and it was the Hundred Sect Alliance who initiated this battle. Once Yang Kai fell into danger, Zhu Jiu Yin would definitely have to do something, otherwise, she would suffer from the backlash of her oath. A Divine Spirit’s Source was their root, foundation, and heritage, a link between them and their ancestral bloodline, so there was no room for carelessness.
Although Yang Kai did not notice the presence of Zhu Jiu Yin’s aura yet, he was sure that this woman had been paying close attention to the battle.
With this woman looking after him in the dark, what did Yang Kai need to fear?
Although Mo Mei was a recent arrival, she was a full-fledged member of Void Land now and had learnt about Zhu Jiu Yin from Yue He before. She knew that a mature Divine Spirit was hiding in Void Land, and even though she had never seen her, she immediately understood what Yang Kai was up to after hearing his words.
After hesitating for a moment, Yue He nodded, “Then, Young Master must be careful.”
Yang Kai replied, “You two should also protect yourselves well!”
During their conversation, the eight ships had rushed down under the lead of Heavenly Sword Union. As soon as Kong Feng turned to look at Luan Bai Feng, she stretched out her hand and beckoned to Mo Mei with a grin, “Such a beautiful little girl. This Elder Sister likes women like you. Would you like to have a chat with me?”
With a slight swing of her hand, a powerful World Force descended from above Mo Mei.
Mo Mei’s face turned solemn. She did not dare to stay near Yang Kai to avoid him being involved in this battle, so with a flicker, she rushed straight at Luan Bai Feng. The two women made only light movements, but their World Forces collided with each other endlessly as they soon moved their battlefield further away.
However, Mo Mei had just advanced to the Sixth Order, so her foundation was not steady yet. After exchanging a few moves with Luan Bai Feng, she gradually fell into a disadvantage. Luan Bai Feng kept an indifferent look, obviously confident in handling her.
The gap between their strength was obvious, but although Luan Bai Feng was much stronger than Mo Mei and it was not difficult for her to suppress her, it would still be very hard to capture her alive or kill her, unless Mo Mei made a critical mistake.
Kong Feng was overjoyed to see that one of the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters around Yang Kai was easily lured away by Luan Bai Feng. He bellowed solemnly, “Act according to the plan!”
All the surrounding Open Heaven Realm Masters nodded.
On the ship of Golden Rainbow Province, Qi Jin shouted, “Yue He, for the sake of our many years of friendship, leave now. This Qi will speak for you to Union Master Kong to let you live. Otherwise, don’t blame this Qi for not showing due consideration.”
Ling Chun Qiu also advised, “Madam Yue He, one must know how to adapt to their circumstances!”
It was not surprising that the two had known Yue He for a long time. When they schemed against the Proprietress by using Old Bai’s breakthrough to the Open Heaven Realm, Yue He was their partner. But at that time, all three of them were still Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. After obtaining a World Fruit, Yue He had risen to the Sixth Order and now had a brighter future, while Qi Jin and Ling Chun Qiu were still lingering in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
After a cultivator breaks through to the Open Heaven Realm, each improvement in Order requires lengthy accumulation, and the higher the Order, the longer the time it took. Not everyone could obtain such a Heaven-defying treasure like the World Fruit.
Yue He snorted coldly, “I may be just a simple woman, but whoever wants to harm my Young Master must go through me first!”
“Foolish stubbornness!” Ling Chun Qiu felt pity for her.
Kong Feng roared lividly, “Stop wasting time and attack!”
At that command, more than ten figures flew out from the eight ships and charged at Yue He together. They were all Open Heaven Realm Masters. Among them were 3 Fifth-Orders, while the rest were Third and Fourth-Orders. They had a significant numerical advantage, so Yue He did not dare to take them lightly even though she was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
In addition, Kong Feng was eyeing Yang Kai from the side, so she still had to look out for his safety.
Therefore, Yue He instantly fell into a disadvantage.
Kong Feng stood on the deck of his ship, observing the battlefield coldly while staring at Yang Kai maliciously.
Yang Kai looked flustered. Although he was not in danger under the protection of Yue He, he was also helpless to do anything. Having weaker cultivation in this case truly put him at the disadvantage.
Not long after the battle began, Yang Kai suddenly clenched his teeth and shouted, “Yue He, I’ll leave first. Take care of yourself!”
Yue He nodded as she executed a palm strike, “Young Master, you be careful too.”
Yang Kai nodded. Taking advantage of an opening created by Yue He, Space Principles surged and he disappeared with a flicker.
Kong Feng’s eyes lit up as he guffawed, “I’ve been waiting for this moment!”
If Yang Kai stuck by Yue He stubbornly, he could only find a chance to launch a sneak attack on Yue He to injure her first before capturing Yang Kai. Given that Yang Kai was escaping by himself now though, it was exactly what Kong Feng wanted.
It was not difficult for Kong Feng to understand why Yang Kai made this choice. The brat obviously felt that he was dragging Yue He down, so he decided to retreat. With his attainments in the Dao of Space, it was easy for him to flee.
However, Kong Feng had firmly locked his Divine Sense onto Yang Kai, so he instantly noticed his escape. With a wild surge of his Divine Sense, Kong Feng turned his head to a certain direction, jumped down from his ship, and grabbed at the Void.
In that direction, a figure appeared faintly, and Yang Kai was suddenly revealed like a ghost; however, before he came to his senses, his body had been wrapped up in a great power, making it feel like a huge mountain was pressing down on him. His bones creaked dangerously and even his body was bent forcefully in an instant.
The power of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was simply something he could not resist.
Yang Kai remained calm, however. He closed his eyes and mumbled with a sneer, “Zhu Jiu Yin, Zhu Jiu Yin. If you still don’t appear, this Junior will die!”
At that moment, a cold snort reached his ears, one that didn’t sound happy in the slightest.
It was obviously Zhu Jiu Yin’s voice, but before Yang Kai had time to celebrate, he heard Zhu Jiu Yin’s voice, “Brat, things are a bit troublesome this time. You’d better watch out for yourself.”
“Huh?” Yang Kai was stunned, not understanding what she meant.
At the same time, Kong Feng’s face changed drastically as he shouted, “Who!?”
Just as he was about to capture Yang Kai, a shocking aura suddenly emerged from somewhere in Void Land, one that was so powerful it terrified him to his bones.
Previously, when Yang Kai triggered the Offensive Array of Nine Heavenly Layers, Kong Feng was frightened by the potent Sword Qi. However, at this moment, the aura that appeared was clearly orders of magnitude more powerful than even that Sword Qi.
Void Land still held a trump card! A horrifying Master beyond anything he could have imagined!
For a moment, Kong Feng felt incredible regret. If he had known that there was such a Master protecting Void Land, he would never have been bold enough to come offend them. Whatever the case, it was too late to regret now.
Kong Feng secretly cursed, [This little bastard, why did he keep such a Master hidden until now? Why didn’t he expose them earlier? Was it fun taunting and mocking me this whole time?] As he thought about it, it did seem that Yang Kai had been toying with him since he came to this place.
Of course, Kong Feng had no idea that if Yang Kai’s life was not in danger, Zhu Jiu Yin would not make a move even if he called her.
While his mind was still spinning with such thoughts, Kong Feng looked up and saw a delicate finger pointing straight at him from somewhere in Void Land. Although from the outside the finger looked gentle and beautiful, in Kong Feng’s eyes it was like an entire world was crashing down on him.
Such a strike could only be delivered by a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master.
Kong Feng clenched his teeth, and he tried his best to surge his own power, going all out to protect himself. At the same time, he quickly retreated. Even though he knew he was no match for this opponent, as a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, how could he just stand there waiting to die?
As he flew back, Kong Feng channelled whatever strength he could to his fist and punch forward.
But everything was in vain before this finger!
Kong Feng sprayed out a mouthful of blood and was sent tumbling uncontrollably as a number of his bones broke. The Small Universe in his body was sent into turmoil, disrupting his World Force.
Kong Feng was absolutely dumbstruck. This kind of might was beyond what an ordinary Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could exert with such a casual blow. The person who attacked him either was an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, or was not far from reaching that height.
Furthermore… Kong Feng vaguely felt something was off about the opponent’s aura.
However, it was meaningless to think about this now. He was severely hit by this opponent who he stood no chance of opposing at all.
[Will I be buried in this place today?] Kong Feng sighed in his heart. He did not expect that after rising to become a hegemon in the 3,000 Worlds, reigning over a peak Second Class force for so many years, he would actually end up dying in such a place.
Kong Feng was not weak; after all, he was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. However, given that the Master hidden in Void Land could severely injure him with just one blow, even though part of the reason was because Kong Feng was caught off guard, it was still enough to show the strength of his attacker.
The slender and fair finger that hit Kong Feng from across the sky pierced his defences like they were paper. Blood spewed out of his mouth but the power of the attack persisted without weakening.
Kong Feng’s body kept flying backwards, but that finger chased after him persistently, as if it was determined to kill him at all cost! Seeing this situation, goosebumps rose all over his body and his pupils shrunk to the size of needles. He continuously threw his fists out, trying to neutralize the power of the approaching finger.
However, everything was in vain. Seeing that the finger continued to press towards him, Kong Feng was dreadfully depressed and infuriated.
If he had known that there was such a Master in Void Land and was prepared for it, he might not have ended up in such a dire situation. Even if he was no match for such a Master, he would not be in immediate danger of losing his life.
The opponent did not reveal her aura before, but once she did, she launched a deadly attack without any hesitation. Kong Feng was far weaker than her, so he immediately ended up in such an embarrassing situation.
The aura of death enveloped him, and although Kong Feng was unwilling, he could only close his eyes and accept his fate.
Just then, a sudden change happened.
A cold snort suddenly came from the sky, followed by a startling sword light that flashed through the Illusion Array enveloping the periphery of Void Land, shattering it in one blow. The sword light directly greeted the slender finger and stopped it before Kong Feng succumbed. With a loud bang, the sword light was annihilated while the slender finger collapsed. The world trembled from the impact.
Immediately after the sword light, two figures plummeted from the sky. One of them let out a strange cackle and rapidly rushed in a certain direction upon entering Void Land. He stretched out his hand like an eagle’s claw, and grabbed towards the direction, with wind stirring and cloud rending World Force gathered in the palm of his hand.
It was in the direction of Zhu Jiu Yin’s palace!
However, the man retreated as quickly as he advanced when another Earth-shaking sound exploded and a fair palm approached him from the direction he was heading. A halo of light exploded as the man returned to the side of his companion.
The second person was holding a long sword. It was obvious that he was the one who broke the Illusion Array with the sword wave earlier.
Kong Feng was pleasantly surprised to narrowly escape death. Although he had no idea who saved him from the power of the finger just now, this person was definitely a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master.
Looking up, he saw two figures standing side by side with heavy World Force auras permeating from their respective bodies. They were two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters! However, both of them were shrouded in a layer of haze, so he could only roughly see their silhouette, not their true faces. He could not even distinguish whether they were men or women.
With a single thought, Kong Feng vaguely guessed their background, but he had no idea where they came from exactly. Still, he quickly cupped his fist and saluted, “Many thanks to two Seniors for saving my life.”
The two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters did not say a word, but remained standing there quietly, facing one direction with a dignified air about them. In that direction, a slim figure approached meanderingly. Her beauty was enthralling, her long skirt fluttering behind with the movements of her graceful figure. Who else other than Zhu Jiu Yin could it be?
From Zhu Jiu Yin’s attack on Kong Feng, to the flash of the startling sword wave, Kong Feng’s narrow escape from death, and the appearance of the two ghostly High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, everything happened in less than three breaths of time. It was so fast that Yang Kai could not even react to it.
He thought that with the help of Zhu Jiu Yin, Kong Feng would certainly die today. As long as Kong Feng died, the so-called Hundred Sect Alliance would easily be scattered and destroyed. By then, he could entrap them within the Illusion Array outside Void Land, and wipe them all out!
But how could he have anticipated such a turn of events at this critical moment!
Yang Kai was frozen for a moment before a sharp light flashed across his eyes as he stared at the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. He grinned as he shouted, “Good, very good!”
Although he did not know the background of these two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, he was sure that they were definitely from some Cave Heaven or Paradise that did not want him to succeed. He believed the great forces behind these two were the same great forces that goaded Kong Feng into assembling the 100 great forces to invade Void Land!
Now, it seemed that these two had been following behind Kong Feng all this time. They did not show up earlier because there was no need to. Moreover, with such a huge lineup like the Hundred Sect Alliance, as High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters of the Cave Heavens and Paradises, them appearing could only be considered shameless bullying of the weak.
That was why they just followed and observed the situation.
However, the heritage of Void Land was truly surprising. The large number of people brought back by Yang Kai from Blood Monster Cave Heaven was the biggest surprise. Due to the sudden increase of more than 300 Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land, its strength had undergone Earth-shaking changes.
No one would have anticipated Void Land gathering so many Open Heaven Realm Masters in such a short time, including a large number in the Fifth and Sixth-Orders.
However, the two observers remained on the sidelines even when the Hundred Sect Alliance fell into a disadvantage in the battle and suffered heavy losses. After all, the life and death of these people had nothing to do with them.
But they stopped hiding when Zhu Jiu Yin’s attack put Kong Feng’s life in danger. Although Kong Feng was the one who gathered the 100 great forces and took the opportunity to seek trouble with Void Land, anyone who had a little knowledge and insight could see that the Cave Heavens and Paradises were behind this move.
If they still failed in such a public plan, they would lose a great deal of face.
As such, Kong Feng could not die. Whether they liked it or not, they had to save him!
At this moment, they concealed their true faces with Secret Techniques, because they did not want to reveal their identities. Although it was obvious that they were from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, they still could not leave any evidence. Therefore, such a cover up was somehow meant to protect the prestige of the great forces behind them.
Only now did Yang Kai finally understand Zhu Jiu Yin’s statement that the situation was going to be troublesome.
Zhu Jiu Yin was a powerful Divine Spirit, so there was no way these two could remain unnoticed by her.
Yang Kai clenched his fist and glared at them, his blood boiling with anger, his heart feeling like a volcano about to erupt.
He had been cultivating on his own and did not bother anyone, but these people insisted on oppressing him again and again. Back in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, many from the younger generations made things difficult for him.
That was still fine, as they were all in the same Realm and generation. If he was killed, he could only blame himself for being incompetent.
After it became clear that the younger generations could not stop him though, the Old Monsters came out to interfere. It seemed that they were determined to remove him from this world.
Anyone who faced such oppression would definitely be upset!
Fortunately, he had Zhu Jiu Yin here with him; otherwise, how could he stand against these two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters? Should he just do nothing and accept death?
Yang Kai examined the bodies of the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Although he could not see their faces clearly, he took note of their auras in detail. He could not be sure where the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters came from, but as long as he was still alive, sooner or later they would meet again.
“Divine Spirit!” The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master with the sword suddenly spoke. His distorted voice sounded a bit like an old man’s, but it was obvious that his original voice was disguised by a Secret Technique, “May I know which Divine Spirit Madam is?”
He could only detect the Divine Spirit aura from Zhu Jiu Yin, but he could not determine what her true form was, unless Zhu Jiu Yin revealed it herself!
“What will you do if I tell you?” Zhu Jiu Yin asked faintly.
The sword wielder replied, “We have no intention of disturbing Madam. So, we would be grateful if you could step aside!”
Zhu Jiu Yin chuckled softly and replied, “I should be the one saying this. In fact, this Queen doesn’t want to bother you either, so you’d best go back where you came from.”
The sword wielder shook his head slowly, “We have a duty to perform here, so we can’t leave. Forgive us, Madam!”
Zhu Jiu Yin raised her eyebrows, “What duty is that?”
“Madam, why do you ask when you already know?”
Zhu Jiu Yin turned her head to look in Yang Kai’s direction before chortling while covering her mouth, “You two are High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. Why do you have to waste time on causing all kinds of trouble to a snot-nosed brat?”
Yang Kai snorted coldly, “Cowards! You’re bold enough to appear here, but lack the courage to show your true faces? Is it because you’re too ugly?”
The sword wielder remained silent, as if he did not hear Yang Kai, but his companion immediately turned to him and released a powerful burst of World Force towards him.
Yang Kai could not respond to it at all and his mind went black. When he regained his senses, a faint scent lingered at the tip of his nose as he saw Zhu Jiu Yin standing in front of him.
Yang Kai took a sniff, and found that the woman truly smelled pleasant…
Zhu Jiu Yin glared at the man with a darkened face, “Who gave you the courage to touch him in front of this Queen?”
Yang Kai peeped his head out from Zhu Jiu Yin’s shoulder, and rebuked, “Old cowards who only know how to bully the young and the weak! Show your faces if you dare to! When I advance to the Open Heaven Realm, I swear I will kill yo… Ack, hey, I’m not finished yet.”
Zhu Jiu Yin harshly shoved Yang Kai’s head back with her hand. His spit sprayed all over her neck when he shouted just now, which felt disgusting.
On the other side, a sudden distortion appeared on the man, and the Secret Technique that covered his appearance and figure dispersed. He actually showed his true face and grinned, “I’ll be waiting for you then!”
Yang Kai peeped and cried, “Myriad Demons Heaven!”
This man had Demon Qi wafting from his body, which was an obvious characteristic. If Yang Kai could not recognize his origin after seeing this, he would be blind.
Yang Kai found that he indeed had some fated rivalry with Myriad Demons Heaven. Back then, it was Great Demon God Mo Sheng who started a disaster in the Star Boundary. That guy definitely originated from Myriad Demons Heaven.
Next, he had an unpleasant experience with Pei Wen Xuan in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
Now, one of the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who came to Void Land was actually from Myriad Demons Heaven. It was truly annoying.
This person was from Myriad Demons Heaven, but Yang Kai did not know the origin of the other one. Although he had a guess, he could not be sure about it.
Yang Kai clenched his teeth and quietly memorised the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master’s appearance. He secretly swore that he would tear this bastard to pieces sooner or later.
The sword wielder suddenly spoke, “Madam, as a Divine Spirit, you should be free. Why get yourself involved in this dispute? It’s better for you to retreat and be on good terms with us.”
Zhu Jiu Yin answered faintly, “I have a duty to be here. I can’t retreat!”
The sword wielder was obviously stunned, then he snorted coldly, “Madam, do you insist on being our enemy?”
Zhu Jiu Yin repeated her answer again, which irritated the man because he thought she was messing with him. Although Divine Spirits were powerful, he was a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and even had a companion of equal strength, there was no need for him to be afraid.
But he did not know that Zhu Jiu Yin truly had a duty too. Since she was Yang Kai’s Protector, she had to keep him safe while he was in Void Land.
“It’s you two who are making things difficult for this Queen. What can this Queen do?” Zhu Jiu Yin glanced at them coldly.
Triggered by his own hot temper, the Myriad Demons Heaven High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master sneered, “This Monarch has never killed a Divine Spirit before. It seems like today will be a new experience.”
The towering Demon Qi around him expanded and powerful World Force permeated the air, causing the entire Void Land to tremble. He immediately charged at Zhu Jiu Yin.
If they could not come to an agreement, they could only fight!
The sword wielder sighed lightly, then followed after the High-Rank Myriad Demons Heaven Open Heaven Realm Master with a flicker, attacking Zhu Jiu Yin from opposite sides.
Zhu Jiu Yin hurriedly sent Yang Kai a transmission, “Be careful, brat. These two are not easy to handle. I’m afraid I can’t look after you and fight them at the same time!”
As soon as Yang Kai heard her words, he knew that Zhu Jiu Yin had to go all out. Facing two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, even a Divine Spirit could not act carelessly.
Instantly, the three clashed. Their battle caused a shocking effect on the surrounding World. Light dimmed, and Void Land trembled endlessly as it began to crack and fracture.
Yang Kai was flabbergasted.
Earlier, the battle between Mo Mei and Luan Bai Feng, two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, was already quite fierce, but it was simply incomparable to the current battle.
The entire Void Land was now divided into four battlefields. The first battlefield was naturally the battle between Zhu Jiu Yin and the two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. The second battlefield was the one between Mo Mei and Luan Bai Feng. The third battlefield was between Yue He and the many Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Hundred Sect Alliance. The fourth battlefield was the battle in the Illusion Array.
Among the four battlefields, the most peaceful one was undoubtedly the battle between Mo Mei and Luan Bai Feng. Although both of them were Sixth-Order Masters, one had been immersed in this Order for many years while the other had just broken through recently, resulting in a huge difference in their strength. Luan Bai Feng had the upper hand, but she wanted to capture Mo Mei alive, so she was holding back quite a bit, allowing Mo Mei to cope with the situation for now. As such, their fight was still considered somewhat tepid.
As for the Illusion Array, it was a one-sided massacre. The 300 Open Heaven Realm Masters of Void Land ripped into the Hundred Sect Alliance, who were all confused and disoriented by the illusions caused by the Grand Array. How could the latter resist? However, at the moment, a rift had been torn in the Illusion Array by the sword wave of the sword-wielding High-Rank Open Heaven Master. As soon as this rift appeared, the Illusion Array’s power dropped significantly, giving a glimmer of hope to the oppressed members of the Hundred Sect Alliance. They were no longer in complete disarray and could even fight back from time to time.
Yang Kai controlled the Array Jade of the Void Land Grand Array, so he was well aware of the situation in Void Land. With just a single thought, he had a grasp of the overall situation in his mind.
Understanding this, he couldn’t help shouting at Zhu Jiu Yin, “Can’t you move your fight somewhere else!? Why must you do this in my Void Land!?”
Zhu Jiu Yin and the two High-Rank Masters weren’t fighting on the ground per-say, but the fallout from their battle could not be underestimated. After all, Void Land was only a Spirit Province, and if they caused too much damage to it, it might collapse.
Void Land was Yang Kai’s base in the 3,000 Worlds. How could he not worry about it?
However, Zhu Jiu Yin did not respond to his words at all. Yang Kai was unsure whether she had even heard him. She did not shift the battlefield away and instead continued to shuttle around Void Land while fighting the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, which resulted in endless rumbling sounds.
“Brat, instead of worrying about your territory, you should pay more attention to your life!” A surly voice suddenly came from the side.
Yang Kai was startled. Only now did he remember that Kong Feng was still eyeing him! Now that all the forces of Void Land and the Hundred Sect Alliance were occupied, leaving only the leaders of the both alone, how could Kong Feng let go of such a great opportunity?
Although he was caught off guard and was seriously injured by Zhu Jiu Yin’s attack, he was still a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Even with a severe wound, it was not hard for him to kill a mere Emperor Realm Junior.
Nonetheless, the purpose of his trip was not to kill Yang Kai. Even though Kong Feng wanted to kill him so badly, he could capture him alive for now.
As long as he could take Yang Kai down, he would claim victory in this battle. Since Yang Kai had no one left to protect him, he was just like a fish on the chopping block, waiting to be tortured by him.
Yang Kai turned to the side and saw Kong Feng spewing a mouthful of blood from nearby, looking at him with a face as white as a sheet.
When their eyes met, Yang Kai instantly realized that Kong Feng’s focus was firmly locked on him, and the surrounding space was locked by a suppressive force. It was obvious that Kong Feng was wary of him using Space Principles to escape. Not only that, Kong Feng was also approaching Yang Kai step by step, slowly pressuring him with his Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura.
Letting out a soft breath, Yang Kai spoke faintly, “Kong Feng, if I were you, I would retreat to save my life. Being stubborn will only lead to tragedy!”
Kong Feng was taken aback and quickly stopped his feet, spreading out his Divine Sense to examine the surroundings.
He was truly frightened by Yang Kai. Yang Kai and Void Land had brought him too many surprises today. The few hundred Open Heaven Realm Masters, the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array and its seemingly limitless functions, the female Divine Spirit hidden in the depths of Void Land…
Who would have thought that a trivial Void Land would possess so much power?
So, when Yang Kai said this, Kong Feng did not dare to take him lightly, for fear that he would reveal another surprise.
However, after some observations, Kong Feng did not sense any kind of threat. On second thought, since such a powerful female Divine Spirit was already revealed, what other hidden trump card could there be in Void Land? It would be too ridiculous if it still held one. Although the strength shown by Void Land was not as great as that of the Cave Heavens and Paradises, it was enough to compete against Heavenly Sword Union.
“Boy, you dare bluff me?” He bellowed.
“You can try me!” Yang Kai replied with an indifferent look.
Kong Feng was in a dilemma. Yang Kai’s calmness unnerved him and he vaguely felt that if he really attacked, there might be an unpleasant surprise waiting for him.
But given that it was just an Emperor Realm Junior standing in front of him, how could a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master not have the courage to even attack him? If he retreated from this, Kong Feng was afraid that he would never be able to raise his head again from the disgrace! Furthermore, the Hundred Sect Alliance had suffered heavy casualties under his lead here. If he could not bring back a victory, it would be hard for him to explain to the outside world.
With a determined mind, Kong Feng clenched his teeth and thundered, “How dare a little bastard like you still play mind games with this King before dying!” He felt that Yang Kai was bluffing him, so he no longer hesitated. As soon as his power surged, he stretched out his hand straight towards Yang Kai’s head.
“Since you court death, don’t blame others for your demise!” Yang Kai grit his teeth as he roared. He raised his hand and summoned the Azure Dragon Spear into his grip. With a flourish, his power surged and his hair began fluttering wildly despite there not being any wind!
“Start the array!”
A buzz came out of Void Land as Yang Kai shouted, which shook Kong Feng’s heart.
He had lost count of how many times he heard these three words today, and every time he had, he suffered a grievous loss. As soon as Yang Kai shouted the word ‘array’, Kong Feng realized that there was something wrong.
Void Land… was still holding another trump card!
Not daring to be negligent, Kong Feng immediately accelerated, swiftly pouncing at Yang Kai who was not far from him now.
At the same time, all the remaining power in the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array of Void Land poured into the Azure Dragon Spear, which absorbed it seemingly without end!
The Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array was established not long ago, so the amount of Starlight Strength it had absorbed was still not much. It had almost depleted all of its stored power after launching various layers of the Grand Array, and Yue He had warned Yang Kai of this earlier.
Right now, the remaining energy in the Grand Array could only be used one last time.
This time, Yang Kai activated the last layer of the Offensive Grand Array of the Nine Heavenly Layers.
The Offensive Grand Array had three layers. The first one was filled with tens of thousands of ordinary artifacts, which had pelted the Hundred Sect Alliance once it was launched. The Array Core of the second layer was the Heavenly Executioner’s Sword. The power of one slash from the sword almost split Kong Feng’s ship in two. If Luan Bai Feng had not summoned three defensive Array Plates at the critical moment, Heavenly Sword Union would definitely have suffered heavy casualties, and Kong Feng would have been seriously injured even if he did not die.
The Array Core of the third and last layer was Yang Kai’s Azure Dragon Spear!
This spear was a gift from Giant Spirit God Ah Da. Compared to the Heavenly Executioner’s Sword and the Heavenly Net Umbrella, it was certainly more powerful; however, Yang Kai had never unleashed the true might of the Azure Dragon Spear before, because his own strength was too low to control the horrifying power hidden within.
But with the help of the Grand Array, the situation was totally different.
Earlier, when they activated the Heavenly Executioner’s Sword, Yang Kai was too weak to do so without Yue He’s help. However, the Azure Dragon Spear was different. Yang Kai had completely refined this spear, so it was linked to his body and Soul, unlike the Heavenly Executioner’s Sword. Nonetheless, the stress that was caused on him by using this move was unimaginable. If he failed to bear the pressure, Yang Kai would definitely kill himself before he could kill his enemy.
Yang Kai did not have a choice at the moment though. Kong Feng attempted to attack him, and Yang Kai would not stand a chance without the last layer of the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array boosting his strength.
The world trembled as the energy in the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array poured madly into the Azure Dragon Spear. The long spear vibrated so strongly that Yang Kai could hardly hold onto it. The violent energy not only stimulated the sleeping power of the Azure Dragon Spear, it also caused miserable pain to erupt all over Yang Kai’s body, causing his bones to crack and blood to leak from his pores.
As a mere Emperor Realm cultivator, it was impossible not to pay a price to channel the full force of such a powerful Grand Array.
Yang Kai remained silent, however, clutching his long spear and focusing all his attention on Kong Feng who was approaching him unblinkingly!
Suddenly, a sonorous Dragon Roar resounded across the sky!
As if a hibernated Great Dragon had awakened, a monstrous Dragon Pressure swept across the entire Void Land. Even the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters who were fighting with Zhu Jiu Yin could not help turning their attention to it.
“A Dragon Artifact!” The sword wielder gasped.
The Dragon Clan was an exceptionally special and powerful Race in the 3,000 Worlds, and it was also incredibly united. Dragon Altar of the Dragon Clan was considered to be one of the 36 Cave Heavens. However, no one knew where Dragon Altar was, except the members of the Dragon Clan who bore Dragon Veins. Other than that, anyone with a strong enough bloodline of the Dragon Clan would be able to sense Dragon Altar and find its location.
Since Ancient Times, the 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises were not always constant. The rulers were replaced with the passage of time, and there were Cave Heavens and Paradises that were destroyed and replaced by others. However, the status and existence of Dragon Altar had never been shaken, and would never be unless the Dragon Clan was exterminated.
In addition to Dragon Altar, there exited Phoenix Nest.
But it was undeniable that anything involved with the Dragon Clan was not a trivial matter.
No one expected that a mere Emperor Realm Junior could acquire a Dragon Artifact, and by the looks of its might, this Dragon Artifact was made from the remains of a Great Dragon.
Who in the world dared to be so presumptuous to use a Dragon Artifact? If the Dragon Clan found out, they would certainly take action!
Even the sword wielder was shocked, while Kong Feng was terrified. In his vision, Yang Kai was still standing there with a spear in hand, but when he looked up, he seemed to see a Great Dragon floating behind Yang Kai, covering the whole world with its figure, its Dragon Eyes staring down at him like he was an ant.
He felt a deadly sense of crisis.
Following a roar, World Force swirled around Kong Feng madly as he drew out the power of his Small Universe wildly and slammed it on Yang Kai.
He did not dare to have any reservations in this attack, using all the strength he could muster at the moment. At this point, he probably had no way to capture Yang Kai alive even if he wanted to. Given that Kong Feng was already badly wounded, if he did not give his best, he was afraid that he might really die!
If he accidentally killed Yang Kai because of that, that was just his fate.
At the same time, Yang Kai thrust out with his spear!
The attack was not fanciful, but it was fueled by all the remaining energy in the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array. A loud series of cracks and pops came out from Yang Kai’s body, along with a large amount of blood. His strength was too low to manage such massive power. Before he could do anything to Kong Feng, the rampaging power had already begun to feel unbearable.
After the thrust, Yang Kai nearly collapsed, his vision turning black as he was on the verge of losing consciousness. Forcing himself to remain standing and awake, Yang Kai stared at Kong Feng without blinking an eye.
Seeing the situation, Kong Feng was flustered and his pupils constricted to the size of a needle. The Azure Dragon Spear was thrown out, turning into a 1,000-metre-long Great Dragon, shaking its head and flicking its tail as it roared up into the sky before charging down at Kong Feng.
In front of the 1,000-metre-long Great Dragon, Kong Feng felt as insignificant as a speck of dust and was soon swallowed up by it.
This was the power of the Azure Dragon Spear! Yang Kai felt enlightened. Although he refined the Azure Dragon Spear and used it many times to kill strong foes, it was impossible for him to unleash its true power due to his own lack of strength. He had also wondered what it would be like if all the power of this long spear was unleashed…
He finally saw it today!
However, this should not be the limit of the Azure Dragon Spear. Although it was supplemented by a Grand Array to unleash its power to an unprecedented extent, Yang Kai still felt that the power of the Azure Dragon Spear was not fully released.
It seemed that he would have to wait until he was stronger before he could achieve his wish.
With a single thought, the 1,000-metre-long Great Dragon suddenly vanished, the Azure Dragon Spear reappeared, falling from the sky and was sunk obliquely into the ground.
In mid-air, Kong Feng stood on the spot, utterly terrified. He was drenched in blood, with not a single part of his body intact and his breathing dreadfully weak.
He had been severely injured by Zhu Jiu Yin earlier, and after being hit by the Azure Dragon Spear, his condition became even worse.
However, he was not dead yet!
Yang Kai ground his teeth, unable to believe that this old dog would be so tenacious! But then again, with the help of the Grand Array, he was the first Emperor Realm Junior in history to injure a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to such an extent. If he wanted to kill Kong Feng, he probably still needed more strength to do so.
Although Yang Kai had expected this outcome, he was still a little disappointed by it!
Kong Feng was appalled, but at the same time he was delighted to escape from death. At the moment, although 80% of his strength was depleted, he still had some remaining. Looking down, he saw Yang Kai’s wobbly stance and critical condition and immediately clenched his teeth to shout, “Let’s see if you can survive now!”
With a flicker, he pounced at Yang Kai again!
Yang Kai wanted to escape by surging his Space Principle, but his strength was completely exhausted from the blow just now, so how could he still be able to escape? Seeing Kong Feng was approaching, he could not do anything to resist him at all.
However, Yang Kai just cackled and shouted, “Come! Don’t be a coward and run!”
A sudden realization dawned on Kong Feng, and he seemed to remember something. When he looked around, he saw hundreds of Open Heaven Realm Masters rushing down at him from the sky, the leader of the group bellowing, “Stop right there, old dog!”
The person who shouted was Pang Duo!
A moment ago, 300 plus Open Heaven Realm Masters from Void Land had rushed into the Illusion Array to start a massacre. The Hundred Sect Alliance had no way to stand against them, resulting in countless casualties.
However, a rift was opened in the Illusion Array by the sword-wielding High-Rank Open Heaven Master, so its power was greatly reduced. The Hundred Sect Alliance naturally saw this opening and scrambled towards it. Many Open Heaven Realm Masters fought hard and found a chance to escape, but instead of Void Land’s forces giving chase, they prioritized cleaning up the stragglers while letting the others run away.
When these Void Land Masters turned around, they witnessed the scene where Yang Kai injured Kong Feng by summoning the Azure Dragon Spear.
Given that Yang Kai was in danger at that moment, Pang Duo and the others certainly had to rush over to rescue him.
Kong Feng felt his heart sink. He was in terrible condition. Not to mention 300 Open Heaven Realm Masters, even just 1 random Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master could take his life at the moment.
As soon as he saw Pang Duo and the others, Kong Feng dared not to continue to entangle with Yang Kai. Following a flicker, he immediately soared into the sky.
How could Pang Duo and the others let Kong Feng escape? This man was the culprit behind all the problems caused today. If it were not for him, how would Void Land be in trouble today?
Pang Duo swung his hand, and commanded the 300 Open Heaven Realm Masters to split into more than ten teams, blocking Kong Feng from running away.
Seeing this situation, a hint of despair appeared in Kong Feng’s eyes. He did not have the ability to escape like Yang Kai as he was not proficient in the Dao of Space. Although he was a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was now seriously wounded and his strength has plummeted. How could he escape in the face of the seamless formation of others?
It was a messy battle, but after a short while, Kong Feng was terribly beaten. His hair was dishevelled, and blood spewed out of his mouth where several attacks hit his body directly, causing him to fall to the ground embarrassingly.
Pang Duo did not kill him directly, but instead used a Secret Technique to seal Kong Feng’s cultivation. After capturing the enemy leader alive, he took him to Yang Kai and saluted with his fist cupped, “My apologies for making Sect Master frightened.”
Yang Kai nodded faintly, “Don’t worry.”
As soon as he spoke, a mouthful of blood was spurted out of his mouth wildly, which startled Pang Duo.
Yang Kai waved his hand back and forth shakily, “It doesn’t matter, I will recover with some rest.”
Although he was in a miserable condition now, he possessed powerful vitality and a frightening ability to recover. He even managed to survive when he was on the verge of death in the Blood Monster Cave Heaven back then; therefore, he could certainly recover from the situation now after some rest.
Looking up at the two battlefields in the sky, Yang Kai saw Luan Bai Feng make a feint which forced Mo Mei back before she turned into a stream of light and quickly escaped.
The woman definitely saw Kong Feng’s tragic end and understood that she could not win this alone. If she did not leave now, she might end up just like Kong Feng, so she decisively escaped.
Mo Mei did not chase after her. After an Earth-shaking battle with her, Mo Mei knew that she was much weaker and would not be able to keep Luan Bai Feng from running away. As such, she did not bother to do so.
Mo Mei turned around and rushed towards Yue He. Yue He was fighting against more than ten Open Heaven Realm Masters alone, among which were three Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, one from Heavenly Sword Union, while the other two were Qi Jin and Ling Chun Qiu.
The battle had been evenly matched, with Yue He at a slight disadvantage. After all, she was outnumbered, so even if she had the upper hand in strength, she could not do anything to them.
However, the tide changed dramatically when Mo Mei arrived. With the two of them working together, the dozen or so Open Heaven Realm Masters were quickly reduced to tears.
Qi Jin and Ling Chun Qiu noticed the distressing situation and bellowed as they looked at each other, “Run!”
But how could they leave at will now?
Yang Kai pointed his hand forward and ordered coldly, “Kill them all! Spare no one!”
Pang Duo and the others rushed up into the sky again after receiving the command, leaving only Lu Xue, Mu Qian Xuan, and Gong Yang Xi, behind to guard Yang Kai. There were more than 300 Void Land people in the sky now, surrounding Qi Jin, Ling Chun Qiu, and the rest.
If the two Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were sufficient to secure a victory for Void Land, what more need be said after dispatching so many reinforcements at once?
Soon, only Qi Jin and Ling Chun Qiu remained alive among the more than ten Masters. Seeing that enemies were surrounding from all directions, Qi Jin decisively stopped and shouted, “I surrender, I surrender. From now on, Golden Rainbow Province will only follow Void Land. Sect Master Yang, please spare my life!”
Ling Chun Qiu also looked at Yue He pleadingly, “Madam Yue He, for the sake of our past friendship, please spare this Old Master!”
Yue He looked in Yang Kai’s direction.
Yang Kai put on a cold face, “How arrogant and domineering were you when you attacked our Sect earlier? Now you beg for mercy? It’s too late! Your death will not be the end! This King will trample on the residence of your two families, and wipe your Sects from the 3,000 Worlds. No one will be spared! Kill them!”
When the words fell, hundreds of attacks from all directions flew towards the two, and shrouded them in an instant.
Qi Jin roared depressingly, “Yang Kai, you will die misera…”
His voice stopped abruptly. When the dust settled, Qi Jin and Ling Chun could no longer be seen. Both of them were vaporized, leaving behind only the World Forces from the shattered Small Universes.
Three of the four battlefields in Void Land have been settled in short order, and the Hundred Sect Alliance had almost been completely annihilated. Void Land had made a clean sweep!
But the last and most important battlefield was still raging. The entire seven Spirit Lands of Void Land were turned upside down, even the shopping district of Void Land that was isolated from Seven Wonders Land was turned into ruins.
Void Land was in a mess. Numerous Spirit Peaks had been razed to the ground, and the seven Orchards had suffered heavy losses.
Yang Kai was heartbroken.
Void Land was his foothold in the 3,000 Worlds, and he spent a massive fortune to arrange the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array here. It would be a huge loss if it was damaged due to such a battle.
However, according to the current situation, even though the battle between Zhu Jiu Yin and the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters was fierce, it was still insufficient to destroy Void Land outright.
And what made Yang Kai slightly relieved was that Zhu Jiu Yin also knew that there were many disciples living in Void Land, so the battlefield was not spread to areas with a higher population.
What Yang Kai could not figure out was why this woman decided to fight inside Void Land. He had asked her to lead the enemy out into the void, but Zhu Jiu Yin turned a deaf ear. No one knew what she had planned.
Yang Kai’s eyes were not quick enough, so although he knew three figures were constantly flashing back and forth, fighting against each other, and he could sense the turbulent World Forces and the shaking around him, he could not see who had the upper hand, so he could only ask Yue He humbly, “Which one of them is stronger now?”
Yue He replied, “Zhu Jiu Yin won’t be able to persist for long alone…”
Yang Kai frowned. He had a rough estimate of Zhu Jiu Yin’s strength, and it was indeed difficult for her to hold out against two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters alone. However, she did well for holding on for so long. In other words, Zhu Jiu Yin now possessed the strength of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; otherwise, the situation would not be like this…
[Is this Zhu Jiu Yin’s full potential?] Yang Kai was not sure; after all, although Zhu Jiu Yin had been with him since the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, no one knew whether she had fully adapted to the Principles in the 3,000 Worlds, and no one knew whether she could even restore herself to her peak.
If this was all of Zhu Jiu Yin’s strength, Zhu Jiu Yin was a Divine Spirit equivalent to a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master; if not, her peak strength must be on par with an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master!
After thinking about it for a while, Yang Kai shouted, “Assist her!”
Yue He and Mo Mei received the orders and rushed towards Zhu Jiu Yin. In a battle between High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, they were the only two in the entire Void Land who could intervene. Although Pang Duo and the others had cultivations in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, they were not strong enough to participate in such a battle. Sending them would be the same as throwing them into the tiger’s den, so it was better for them to stay out of it.
Therefore, Pang Duo and the others did not move at all but stayed by Yang Kai’s side to avoid being taken advantage of by the enemy.
But Yue He and Mo Mei were both newly promoted Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, so it was hard to say how much help they could provide.
“Don’t come here!” Zhu Jiu Yin suddenly yelled, apparently aware of Yue He and Mo Mei’s movements.
Yue He and Mo Mei immediately stopped. Since Zhu Jiu Yin stopped them from approaching, it meant that the two of them would be more trouble than help. All of a sudden, everyone became tense.
Although Void Land had won three out of the four major battles, and the Hundred Sect Alliance was almost completely wiped out, with even Kong Feng, the main culprit, captured alive, the battle between Zhu Jiu Yin and the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realms was the one that would decide the fate of this conflict.
If Zhu Jiu Yin won, Void Land would be safe and sound. On the other hand, if she lost, all other victories would be in vain, no matter how many there had been. The power of the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters was simply not something that Void Land could compete against right now.
The survival of Void Land now depended on Zhu Jiu Yin alone!
Yang Kai clenched his fists and teeth, his eyes glued unblinkingly on every movement on the battlefield. As time passed, even he could tell that Zhu Jiu Yin was at a disadvantage.
The two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had extraordinary strength and both of them worked together seamlessly. Zhu Jiu Yin let her guard slip for a moment and barely blocked a few attacks, allowing the Master from Myriad Demons Heaven to thrust his spear towards her chest.
Zhu Jiu Yin’s beautiful face paled and she pulled away, but the long spear chased after her like maggots on rotting bones.
When Zhu Jiu Yin was about to be stabbed, there was a loud bang and an enormous creature suddenly appeared.
It was a gigantic, silver-white spider. A crescent-shaped mark was branded on its back, permeating the void with the power of a Divine Spirit.
Heavenly Moon Demon Spider!
Zhu Jiu Yin was forced to reveal her true form.
Yang Kai’s heart skipped a beat. If she was not left with no other choice, Zhu Jiu Yin would not have revealed her true form. Now that she had, it was obvious she was forced to a fatal corner.
The Heavenly Moon Demon Spider had an odd appearance, both menacing and enchanting all at once. Swinging her eight legs, Zhu Jiu Yin weaved a Spirit Web across Void Land to trap the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The sword wielder launched at this web while scoffing, “It turns out that Madam is of the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider lineage. I haven’t seen one for many years. Since Madam is a Divine Spirit, why should you restrict yourself to this small place? It’s better to retreat quickly to avoid unnecessary suffering!” The sword slashed down, cutting through strands of spider web.
Zhu Jiu Yin gritted her teeth and did not answer, continuing to spin more Spirit Webs, sealing the skies and locking the earth. Every step she took on the ground shook the world.
The sword wielder frowned, wondering what the hell Zhu Jiu Yin was doing.
The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master of Myriad Demons Heaven shouted in a low voice, “Let’s not drag this longer. Finish it!”
The sword wielder gave a small nod, his Sword Intent soaring.
The combined attacks of the two were more than twice as fierce as before, and Zhu Jiu Yin’s situation became more and more precarious. If she faced either of these two separately, she would not be at such a disadvantage, but she had too many constraints inside Void Land, and had not restored herself to her peak. Worst of all, she could not escape because she had to protect Yang Kai, hence her current situation.
However, although she did pull back and tried her best to resist, she did not stop stomping the earth, causing a drum-like reverberation into the depths of the ground.
In the beginning, the two High-Rank Open Heaven did not think too much about it, but after a while, both of them realized that something was wrong. Zhu Jiu Yin was already struggling to deal with their attacks, so why did it seem like she was distracted?
The sword wielder muttered in a low voice, “I don’t know what trick this woman is playing, but stay alert.”
The Open Heaven Realm Master of Myriad Demons Heaven smiled grimly, “How dare you scheme against us when you’re about to die!”
As soon as the two of them spoke, their expressions suddenly changed, and they quickly backed off to look around in shock, as if they were about to face a great enemy.
Zhu Jiu Yin too, stopped and took a long breath, feeling quite aggrieved. If only she had recovered to her peak, these two would be nothing to her, and there would be no need for her to fight so hard. However, it would take at least three to five more years to completely restore her strength.
She made up her mind at that moment. If the situation turned dire, she would flee with Yang Kai and Shan Qing Luo immediately. These two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters would not be able to stop her if she really wanted to.
She was Yang Kai’s Protector and had to ensure his safety no matter what. Shan Qing Luo possessed a Heavenly Moon Demon Spider Source, so she must protect her too. As for the lives of others, Zhu Jiu Yin had no concern for them whatsoever.
However, in this way, Yang Kai would definitely complain and reprimand her.
Fortunately, the crisis had finally been resolved. She relaxed a bit, and snarled through gritted teeth, “I thought you would never come out. Are you trying to be a turtle that hides in its shell forever? Try hiding if you still can!”
Outside the battlefield, Yang Kai and the others were completely confused. They were under the impression that Zhu Jiu Yin was in a precarious situation and were utterly astonished by the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master’s sudden retreat and change in expressions.
And they became even more puzzled by Zhu Jiu Yin’s words.
But soon, a strange look appeared on Yang Kai’s face. He faintly sensed an aura awakening from Void Land, as though the entire World had come alive. What’s more, this awakening aura made his Dragon Vein pulse slightly…
“Oh oh, little girl, it hurts when you’re jumping around on this Old Master’s head like this.” An aged voice suddenly boomed loudly, and then, a short figure appeared a short distance in front of Zhu Jiu Yin. His appearance was quaint and completely relaxed, as if he had been standing there all along, except that no one had seen him, including Yang Kai and even the two Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
“Besides, how can I be a turtle if I don’t hide?” The short figure spoke again.
Zhu Jiu Yin snorted coldly. She was a Divine Spirit, so even though she looked young and beautiful, she had in fact lived in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary for many millennia; however, she did not rebuke when she was addressed by this old man as ‘little girl’.
Yang Kai looked strangely at the short figure who appeared. His hair and beard were completely white, and his face was so wrinkled and withered that he looked as if he was about to die. Bent forward with a thick turtle shell behind his back, one could see the intertwined ravines on his shell clearly. It appeared to be exquisite and profound patterns and texts, carrying the wisdom of the Grand Dao.
Aware that Yang Kai was looking at him, the hunched old man, who seemed like he was dying, turned his head to look at Yang Kai and smiled at him.
Based on his appearance, combined with the aura on him and the response in his own blood, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up!
“Another Divine Spirit?” Eyes narrowed, the Myriad Demons Heaven’s High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master squinted at the short old man. It was already surprising enough for a trivial Void Land to have a Heavenly Moon Demon Spider living here, who would have thought there would be a second Divine Spirit?
However, the true form of this Divine Spirit was not revealed at this moment, and there was no way to know which race he belonged to. The conspicuous turtle shell on his back piqued many assumptions though.
If it was only Zhu Jiu Yin, the combined forces of the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters would give them the upper hand; however, with an additional Divine Spirit appearing, they had no chance of victory.
This Divine Spirit was so well hidden before that they had no way of realizing he was even here, and it did not appear right until the critical moment to disrupt the situation. While it wasn’t clear whose side this old man was on, it was certain he wasn’t an ally to them.
Thinking of this, the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters frowned.
The sword wielder took a step forward and crossed an arm across his chest, his long sword held in the other hand behind him, “How should I address Old Sir?”
The old man did not answer. His head was lowered because of his hunched back, and his two long white eyebrows dangled from his face, obscuring everyone from his expression.
The sword wielder waited for a while, but there was no response. He was naturally a little upset and was about to open his mouth to ask another question, but he suddenly heard a snore.
This old fart actually fell asleep!
The rhythmic snores showed how sweetly the old man was sleeping.
[Just what is happening right now?] It was in the midst of the battle, and Void Land was in a total mess. Two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were still watching covetously from the side, but the old man with a turtle shell who appeared all of a sudden actually fell into a slumber in the middle of the fight…
Everyone’s face couldn’t help twitching.
The sword wielder snorted coldly, “This old man is truly impressive!” He was a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters after all, a prestigious figure in the 3,000 Worlds, but this turtle-shelled old man actually disregarded him entirely and fell asleep right in front of him. Even if he was a Divine Spirit, he was way too scornful!
Followed by a shudder, the turtle-shelled old man woke up again and sighed, “I’m too old, I can’t be as energetic as young people like you all, but you little ones are just too much. If you have any grudges, settle them by yourselves. Why do you have to jump around on my head and interfere with my sleep? How rude!”
As soon as he said this, the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters’ faces turned ugly, but Yang Kai was immediately relieved.
Before, he did not understand why Zhu Jiu Yin chose to fight in Void Land, which caused a huge mess and collapsed many Spirit Peaks. During her battle with the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, she even put some effort into shaking the ground. It turned out that Zhu Jiu Yin had already noticed the existence of the turtle-shelled old man a long time ago and was taking this opportunity to wake him, which was why she was determined to fight on Void Land!
The turtled-shelled old man was a Divine Spirit, just like Zhu Jiu Yin. Although they were from different Clans, as a Divine Spirit herself, it was reasonable that Zhu Jiu Yin could detect his presence.
However, from Zhu Jiu Yin’s earlier actions, she did not seem to know where the turtle-shelled old man was hiding; therefore, she could only constantly shift the battlefield and disturb the entire Void Land.
‘If you have time to bother me, why don’t you use it to study your Void Land? This place is not simple!’ Yang Kai suddenly remembered what Zhu Jiu Yin had told him some time ago.
Yang Kai spent more than ten days examining both inside and outside of Void Land, but found nothing at that time. Now, it seemed that what Zhu Jiu Yin meant was that there was the Divine Spirit hidden in Void Land! Yang Kai had not figured it out because he was not strong enough. He could not even sense the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters lurking nearby, much less this Divine Spirit.
If Zhu Jiu Yin did not cause disturbances on purpose, the turtle-shelled old man would probably have continued to hide.
Yang Kai could not help feeling frightened. He was totally clueless about such a powerful existence hiding in Void Land. If the other party had ill intentions, Void Land would definitely have suffered heavy losses.
But judging from the turtle-shelled old man’s attitude, he was neither vicious nor violent, even seeming to be quite easy to speak with.
It reminded Yang Kai of the Seven Wonders Land’s history…
The predecessor of Void Land was Seven Wonders Land. Seven Wonders Land certainly did not realize the existence of the turtled-shelled old man either; otherwise, they would have asked him for help when they were being exterminated.
By the looks of it, the old man had been hiding here for many, many years. Given that he spoke like an old man and even addressed a Divine Spirit like Zhu Jiu Yin and the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters as ‘little ones’, Yang Kai really could not imagine how old he was.
“Old man, are you acting arrogant just because of your seniority? Do you really think this Monarch is afraid of you just because you’re a Divine Spirit?” The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master from Myriad Demons Heaven had a short temper and flared up. They were so close to their victory just now, but were blocked by the old man at the last moment. After enduring for a while, he could no longer hold it in. Leaping out, he stabbed at the old man with the long spear in his hand.
The move of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters was indeed magnificent and powerful. Under the surging World Force, Yang Kai and the others felt the mountain-like pressure plummeting on them, causing the blood in their chests to constrict.
This was only the radiant effect, so one could imagine how much pressure the turtle-shelled old man, who was being targeted directly, was facing.
Although it was only a single attack, countless spear shadows seemed to cover the sky, each one containing the killing intent of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Appalled, the turtle-shelled old man yelped as he stepped back repeatedly, “Why can’t we just talk things out peacefully? Why do we have to fight? Young men should know how to respect the elderly!”
He stumbled, lost his balance and fell straight on his butt.
Following the momentum, the old man withdrew his arms and legs like a turtle, into his solid shell. His small figure easily retracted into the shell, completely concealing himself.
*Hong hong hong… *
One after another, spear shadows struck onto the turtle shell, causing the Earth to shake and even space itself to tremble.
When the spear shadows dispersed, everyone stared in amazement at the scene before them.
The turtle shell remained intact on the ground, with not even a mark left on it. However, who knew if the old man hiding in the turtle shell was shaken to death?
The Open Heaven Realm Master of Myriad Demons Heaven who landed the attack squinted. Although he launched the attack in a hurry and did not use his full strength, the might of a Seventh-Order Master was still no joke. Even another Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would not end well after receiving such a move, but it actually failed to even leave a scratch on this turtle shell.
[Just how tough is this turtle shell?]
He wanted to make another move again, but the sword wielder raised his hand and stopped him, glancing at Zhu Jiu Yin vigilantly at the same time. He did not expect such an outcome today. Not to mention the Hundred Sect Alliance led by Heavenly Sword Union being destroyed, they were being hindered even when he joined hands with the Myriad Demons Heaven Open Heaven Realm Master. Void Land was full of unpleasant surprises.
The Heavenly Moon Demon Spider alone was already difficult to deal with, and now he had to face this turtle-shelled old man as well. He was quite hesitant. If they forced the old man to join hands with the Heavenly Moon Demon Spider, they could only escape.
Thinking through numerous possibilities, the sword wielder proceeded, “Old Sir, please show yourself so we can talk.”
The turtle shell laid quietly on the ground, unresponsive. Just when the people wondered if the turtle-shelled old man was shaken to death, a head with a terrified, pale face suddenly peeped out, looking around sneakily, and asked nervously, “Are we not fighting anymore?”
This old fellow was so chicken-hearted that everyone was left speechless.
But the sword wielder did not dare to underestimate him and spoke politely, “Old Sir, please come out.”
After observing the situation for a moment and making sure that no one would hit him again, the turtle-shelled old man stretched his arms and legs out of the turtle shell and sighed as he wiped the dust off his body, “Alas, what an unlucky day. Sometimes unlucky things just happen even when you do nothing. Such misfortune.”
The sword wielder demanded again, “How should I address Old Sir?”
The turtle-shelled old man immediately shook his head like a pellet drum, “I can’t tell. I won’t tell. If you know my name, you will find trouble with me in the future. This Old Master won’t tell even if he dies.”
Yang Kai was speechless. Since this old man had already revealed himself today, could he run away from troubles if the others really wanted to cause any in the future?
The sword wielder did not intend to force him, so after a moment of silence, he continued, “We didn’t know that Old Sir resided here. If we offended Old Sir in any way, please forgive us.”
Hearing him, the turtle-shelled old man smiled, “It’s alright. One who makes mistakes unknowingly need not be held responsible. It’s fine as long as you don’t come around to disturb my sleep again.”
“We dare not!” The sword wielder nodded lightly, then he changed to the next topic abruptly, “But we still have a task to complete. Please stand aside, Old Sir.”
The turtle-shelled old man held his crutch and spoke, “As long as you stop fighting, everything can be negotiated.”
“Many thanks, Old Sir!” The sword wielder thanked politely, then he pointed at Yang Kai, “I want to take this boy with me!”
“In your dreams!” Yue He and the rest shouted angrily, immediately surrounding Yang Kai while circulating their strength to guard against unexpected events.
The sword wielder ignored them entirely and just stared at the turtle-shelled old man.
“Oh, hmm…” The old man hesitated for a while, then looked at Yang Kai again, and asked embarrassingly, “May this Old Master ask why you want to take him?”
The sword wielder did not answer him; instead, he asked, “Old Sir, are you protecting him? I wonder what kind of relationship Old Sir has with this boy?”
From the previous situation, the turtle-shelled old man did not seem to be related to Yang Kai in any way, but given that the old man was chicken-hearted even though he was clearly quite powerful, why did he have to stand up for Yang Kai?
The turtle-shelled old man coughed softly, “There’s actually no relationship between us…”
“Then…”
“But we share some heritage. It would be improper for this Old Master to just let him die.” The turtle-shelled old man was dying of embarrassment, his wrinkled face wrinkling even further.
“Share some heritage…” Even though the sword wielder’s face was shrouded in clouds and fog, and his expression could not be seen clearly, he was clearly puzzled by the old man’s words, for he had no idea what kind of connection this Divine Spirit who had been keeping a low profile had with Yang Kai.
However, taking away Yang Kai was not his real purpose. The reason why he requested this was just to cover his real intent. Therefore, he stopped pestering and continued, “Since Old Sir has declared so, we will respect your wishes.”
The turtle-shelled old man chuckled, “Many thanks.”
“Since I can’t take this boy with me, then I must take him away. As for this, I believe Old Master will not stop me, right?” The sword wielder pointed at Kong Feng, who was captured alive, as he spoke.
Kong Feng was extremely depressed. As a noble Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, it should have been impossible for him to be captured alive. Even a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master might not be able to do that. But still, he was seized, had his cultivation restrained, and suffered heavy injuries one after another. At this moment, he looked absolutely wasted, his spirit completely depleted.
Being a prisoner, if he wanted to live, he could only rely on the sword wielder and the Myriad Demons Heaven High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master. As such, when he heard the request of the sword wielder, he immediately looked at him gratefully.
The turtle-shelled old man nodded his head like a chicken pecking rice, “No problem, no problem. Just take him.”
The sword wielder nodded lightly, then turned to look at Yang Kai, “Yang Kai, this matter ends here, let him go.”
Yang Kai looked at him with a defiant face, “Why should I have to listen to you? Who the Hell are you to tell me what to do?”
The sword wielder replied faintly, “Today, your Void Land has reaped all the rewards. It’s better for you to spare others where it is possible.”
The turtle-shelled old man advised wryly, “Little one, it’s better to avoid unnecessary trouble. These two are not to be trifled with, and the ones behind them are even scarier.”
Although he slept for many years, not caring about worldly affairs, this old man knew that only the Cave Heavens and Paradises could deploy High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters like this. He was timid to begin with, otherwise, why would he hide in Void Land for so many years? How would he dare to challenge the Cave Heavens and Paradises?
Yang Kai’s face darkened, and was silent for a moment before speaking, “Since Old Sir has said as much, this Junior will give some face.”
The turtle-shelled old man laughed, “A promising young man…”
Kong Feng let out a large breath of relief. When he was captured alive before, he was in despair, thinking that he was going to die in Void Land. Who knew that things would take a turn for the better? Feeling grateful to the sword wielder, he threw Yang Kai a vicious glare.
The Hundred Sect Alliance suffered heavy losses this time, and he was the only one left from Heavenly Sword Union. It could be said that this operation was a complete failure, but it was not without gain. At the very least, he exposed the details of Void Land to the ones above, allowing them to have a better understanding of its strength.
Although they failed this time, Void Land would not be able to resist their next attempt when they were properly prepared.
Ten years was not too long for a gentleman to seek revenge. As long as one was still alive, there would always be a possibility for a comeback.
The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master of Myriad Demons Heaven snorted coldly, “Little brat, seems you’re not too foolish.”
The sword wielder nodded too, “Why are you still not letting him go?”
Yang Kai nodded, “I’ll let him go now…”
Saying so, Yang Kai suddenly grabbed the cold water longsword from Lu Xue’s hand and slashed down, lighting up the space between Heaven and Earth with the brilliance of the sword.
The turtle-shelled old man’s smile froze, Zhu Jiu Yin was slightly absent-minded, and the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters too, were stunned…
Kong Feng looked at Yang Kai in horror, his eyes bigger than eggs!
With a kick and a shove, Yang Kai sent Kong Feng in the direction of the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. How could Kong Feng, whose cultivation was restricted, resist his kick? His body involuntarily flew towards that direction as he exclaimed in exasperation, “Yang Kai, you bastard! I won’t forget this even when I turn into a ghost!”
When the words fell, a thin red streak suddenly appeared on his neck, which was immediately severed, followed by his head soaring into the sky, sending fresh blood spraying out like a fountain!
Yang Kai’s sword cut off his head directly, but he moved so fast that the head and body were still connected for a moment. As a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Kong Feng possessed a tenacious vitality, which allowed him to let out a deafening roar of resentment before his death…
However, if the head was cut off, nothing could help regardless of how strong one’s vitality was.
The fog around the sword wielder violently swirled, indicating the fluctuation in his mood. He growled through gritted teeth, “Bold Junior!”
The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master of Myriad Demons Heaven on the other hand stared at Yang Kai with great interest. There was even a hint of appreciation. The people of Myriad Demons Heaven were all ruthless, and Yang Kai’s actions were undoubtedly very much in line with his tastes. If not because they were on opposing sides, he would have even applauded.
No one expected Yang Kai to act so decisively. A moment ago, he agreed to let Kong Feng go but took his life the next instant. The flipping of his attitude was hard to keep up with.
Kong Feng’s fate was tragic indeed. One would not dare say it would not happen again in the future, but it was definitely unprecedented until now for a dignified Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to be killed at the hands of an Emperor Realm Junior.
Yang Kai looked at the sword wielder coldly, and waved the long sword in his hand, “This Junior has never tried to act boldly, but when others try to bully me, I won’t sit still and take it. Anyone who dares to offend Void Land will never be forgiven!”
Since the enemy had shown up right at his doorstep, how could Yang Kai back down? Even if Kong Feng was released this time, would Kong Feng and the great force behind him be grateful to him? Enmity had been formed, and there was no possibility of a reconciliation. It was better to cut weeds and pull out roots instead of returning the tiger to the mountains. If Kong Feng was released today, he would certainly return for vengeance in the future.
Although a large number of Open Heaven Realm Masters from the Hundred Sect Alliance had died here today, that wasn’t too significant, but Kong Feng was different. With the execution of Heavenly Sword Union’s Union Master in Void Land, Void Land would definitely become famous. This would also serve as an example to others who might want to trifle with Void Land.
After this battle, anyone who had plans to cause trouble in Void Land would have to consider whether their necks were tough enough to survive its wrath.
“Very good!” The sword wielder quickly calmed his rage. He was only angry because Yang Kai killed Kong Feng in front of him. He had already opened his mouth to save Kong Feng’s life so killing Kong Feng was nothing short of a slap to his face.
But now that Kong Feng was dead, there was nothing to be gained by getting angry unless he had the ability to deal with Zhu Jiu Yin and the turtle-shelled old man.
The mental discipline of a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master was naturally extraordinary. Although Kong Feng’s death has caused him some humiliation, it had nothing to do with the overall situation.
From behind the fog, Yang Kai vaguely felt a pair of eyes staring deeply at him. A moment later, the sword wielder turned and fled, transforming into a stream of light that shot straight into the sky.
The High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master of Myriad Demons Heaven looked Yang Kai up and down with a meaningful grin before muttering, “Interesting…”
After saying that, he left as well. With two Divine Spirits guarding Void Land and the departure of the sword wielder, what could he do alone?
Despite their immense strength, the Hundred Sect Alliance was almost wiped out in this battle. Even Kong Feng, Heavenly Sword Union’s Union Master, was captured and beheaded in Void Land. This was probably something that no one would have thought of before today. Except for the Black Prison’s Warden Luan Bai Feng, only a few Open Heaven Realm Masters managed to escape. Though their escape was only thanks to the sword wielder who broke the Illusion Array, otherwise no one would have escaped today.
This news would soon spread and cause a great uproar in the 3,000 Worlds. The rise of Void Land would surely attract the attention of many parties.
Yang Kai looked up to watch the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters leave, feeling unwilling but unable to do anything. Zhu Jiu Yin was only responsible for protecting his life, so she was definitely unwilling to fight these two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters to death.
[I wonder what kind of attitude that turtle-shelled old man has towards this?] Yang Kai did not know. There was no way for Void Land to force the two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters to remain if the two Divine Spirits did not make a move, so Yang Kai could only watch them leave.
Returning the long sword to Lu Xue, Yang Kai instructed, “Close the array, clean up the battlefield, and count the casualties!”
Everyone responded to the order and began performing their duties.
Zhu Jiu Yin turned into a stream of light and returned to the place where she was cultivating, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Yang Kai did not even have time to say anything to her, but as his Protector, she stood up when his life was in danger. This was originally agreed upon by the two of them, so there was no need to say anything more.
Yang Kai turned his head to look at the turtle-shelled old man, whose face was wrinkled into a ball, muttering anxiously, “What a disaster, a disaster!”
“Old Sir…” Yang Kai took two steps forward and cupped his fist respectfully, “Many thanks to Old Sir for his assistance today. This Junior will remember this favour!”
When the sword wielder said he was going to take him away, the turtle-shelled old man spoke up for him. If not, the sword wielder would definitely not have let him off.
Although it was just a few spoken words, it was also a life-saving grace. Furthermore, the result of what happened today was thanks to the sudden appearance of this turtle-shelled old man. Although he did nothing but stand there, speak a little, take an attack, and fall asleep, if he had not appeared, the situation today would not have ended so peacefully, and Void Land’s fate would have been precarious.
The turtle-shelled old man looked at Yang Kai sadly, tapping the floor with his heavy cane, “Little boy, you have caused a huge disaster.”
Yang Kai wondered, “Oh? What disaster is it?”
The turtle-shelled old man replied, “You slapped that guy’s face in public and offended a High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, isn’t that a huge disaster?”
Yang Kai shook his head slowly, “Even if I bowed down and gave him what he wanted, he would still have come to provoke my Void Land again. Since the grudges between us are already irresolvable, it doesn’t matter if I slap him once or twice.”
The old man frowned, “That’s true, but…”
He sighed, “Haa, such misfortune.”
“I have not gotten the chance to ask, how should I address Old Sir?” Yang Kai had already learned about his cowardice, so he ignored his defeatist mutterings.
The turtle-shelled old man looked around without answering, but simply replied, “You clean up first, we can speak later.”
After saying so, his figure flickered and suddenly disappeared.
Yang Kai was stunned. Although there was a huge gap in their strengths, he did not even see how the other person disappeared. However, he seemed to sense something and looked up at a peak not far away.
Yang Kai could never sit idly by when such a powerful, unknown Divine Spirit was living in Void Land. He had to investigate the old man’s details, but fortunately, the turtle-shelled old man showed no malice toward him, even speaking up to protect him instead. That relieved Yang Kai greatly.
Plopping himself on the ground, Yang Kai took out a Spirit Pill and stuffed it into his mouth, closing his eyes to refine it.
Although he only oversaw Void Land throughout the battle and did not participate physically, Yang Kai had been controlling the Grand Array from the outside, which consumed a lot of his energy. Whether it was the Bewildering Array or the Killing Arrays, they were all indiscriminate. Anyone would be affected by the Grand Array as long as they were involved in it.
That was why Yang Kai needed to constantly supervise the Grand Array to create opportunities for those from Void Land to kill enemies while avoiding the negative effects.
It was still bearable if supervising was all Yang Kai had to do, but the final layer of the Grand Array he used to fight against Kong Feng pushed him far beyond that. As a trivial Emperor Realm cultivator, it was extremely taxing for him to fight the enemy while wielding the power of the Grand Array.
With such injuries, it was impossible to recover without ten days to a half month of rest, and this was only thanks to Yang Kai’s awesome recovery abilities. If he were an average Emperor Realm cultivator, he would have been bedridden for a year and a half at least
But a huge effort meant a huge harvest. Not to mention the mountains of spoils from killing so many people, the deaths of the Open Heaven Realm Masters brought a fundamental enhancement to Void Land.
There were quite a few Open Heaven Realm Masters that came with the Hundred Sect Alliance, but very few escaped in the end. Among them, many were Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. The Small Universes within the many Open Heaven Realm Masters collapsed when they were killed, releasing their World Force into Void Land.
As long as Void Land could digest this World Force, its foundation would undergo Earth-shaking changes.
As Void Land’s heritage became stronger, the power of the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array would increase accordingly. The efficiency of cultivators cultivating in Void Land would also increase, and the probability of those who lived here comprehending the Grand Dao would be boosted.
If it was not for their incredible heritage, how could the Cave Heavens and Paradises have such breathtaking sceneries? How could their disciples have such rapid cultivation?
That was why Yang Kai immediately ordered for the closure of the array! Once the Grand Array was sealed shut, the World Force released by the dead Open Heaven Realm Masters would be sealed in Void Land, and over time be absorbed and assimilated by it.
Su Yan, Xia Ning Chang, and many others including the Great Emperors rushed over in a hurry. These cultivators from the Star Boundary had been in retreat for intense cultivation, and now they had all condensed their Dao Seals. It was the perfect timing to refine the Yin, Yang, and Five Elements. They definitely should not waste any time over other things. Nonetheless, what happened today was extremely conspicuous, and it was difficult for them not to notice.
However, in such an intense battle, there was not much they could do, so even if they were aware of what was happening, they could only observe from afar and stay hidden. They knew their strength was limited, and they would probably be more of a burden than help if they tried to participate.
Now that the overall situation had been decided, they naturally came out.
Yang Kai was still tending to his injuries, so Second Manager Bian Yu Qing briefly explained the details of the incident to them. Only then did everyone know that Void Land had survived a great tribulation.
The Great Emperors glanced at each other and turned around to return to their retreat without disrupting Yang Kai, as did Su Yan and the others.
It was not that they did not care about the situation in Void Land, but what happened to Void Land today gave them a sense of crisis. Void Land managed to triumph this time, but what about the next time?
If they wanted to help, they had to advance to the Open Heaven Realm as soon as possible. So, they were racing against time to cultivate as quickly as they could, not daring to slack off.
Yang Kai had created such a good environment for them, one where they did not even need to worry about resources. It would be a waste of Yang Kai’s hard work if they did not show some accomplishments.
With Yue He’s administration, the Grand Array rolled shut with a loud rumble. The Bewildering Array was damaged, but the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array had self-repair abilities, and since Nanmen Da Jun had learned a lot from Grandmaster Wu Liang during the several months of apprenticeship, this damage could be repaired by him.
The only issue was that the energy stored in the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array was completely exhausted. It was no longer possible to stimulate the power of the Grand Array, and this was a matter that could only be solved with time.
The battlefield was cleaned thoroughly as a mountain of corpses was gathered. The Hundred Sect Alliance dispatched more than 10,000 people, but only a handful of them had escaped. The intruders who came to Void Land, whether they be Open Heaven Realm Masters or Emperor Realm cultivators, had suffered heavy casualties, and their scattered corpses had to be found and piled up together.
A bloody stench filled the air, but with a wave of her hand, Yue He burned them all to ashes.
The plunder from the thousands of deaths was bountiful. Every cultivator had more than one Space Ring, so Void Land had harvested tens of thousands of Space Rings. Even if most of these Space Rings were not filled with abundant riches, the Open Heaven Realm Masters, especially the Mid-Rank ones, were naturally not poor. Every Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master who came here was a representative of their respective Sects, so how could they have no savings?
For example, Qi Jin, Ling Chun Qiu, Old Hong…
Especially Kong Feng, the Union Master of Heavenly Sword Union, could never have shabby possessions.
However, Yang Kai was not interested in this loot at all and just handed all of it over to Second Manager Bian Yu Qing. Since all the future expenditures of various materials in Void Land would also be managed by her, she naturally would need to tally up these winnings.
“Young Master, the battlefield has been cleaned.” Yue He reported softly after cremating the several thousand corpses.
Yang Kai slowly opened his eyes. His aura was still a little weak and the colour had not yet fully returned to his face, but he looked much better than before. Hearing that, he nodded and asked in a low voice, “How about the casualties?”
“Dozens were injured, but no one died, and none suffered serious injuries. They just need some time to recover.” Yue He replied.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, letting out a sigh of relief.
They fought against the Hundred Sect Alliance all by themselves, and not only did the entire enemy army perish, no one from Void Land was even killed. Who would ever believe such an absurd story? How was it possible for one side to be defeated while the other did not suffer any casualties in such a fierce battle?
However, it was a fact that none of the 335 Open Heaven Realm Masters from Void Land died. Among these people, 315 were cultivators from Abundance City, about a dozen were from Blood Swan Continent, and the rest were residents of Void Land.
One had to say, this was nothing short of a miracle.
To achieve such a victory was undoubtedly thanks to the power of the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array. The more than 300 Open Heaven Realm Masters fought in the Bewildering Array twice, where the enemy was blinded and confused, and with the addition of Yang Kai’s guidance, the victory was almost as easy as breathing. As long as they were careful enough, how could they die?
Injuries were inevitable of course, and with the enemy’s desperate counterattack, some were indeed sustained.
Slowly getting up, Yang Kai’s eyes swept over every direction, meeting pair after pair of eyes that flashed with elation.
Whether it was a cultivator from Abundance City or Blood Swan Continent, none of them had ever experienced such a fulfilling and satisfying battle before, and through this battle, they were able to deeply comprehend the power of their own Sect. Being a part of Void Land now was a great honour!
“We, Void Land, were able to overcome this difficult trial, thanks to everyone’s concerted efforts. Many thanks for your hard work!” Yang Kai’s voice boomed loudly.
Mo Mei answered, “Sect Master is too modest. Now that we are a part of Void Land, we all should contribute when enemies arrive at our borders. We were only able to achieve victory today thanks to Sect Master’s constant efforts. Void Land is our home, and we swear to live and die in Void Land!”
“We swear to live and die with Void Land!” The world shook with the crowd echoing in unison.
Reputation was a wonderful thing. Over 90% of Void Land’s Open Heaven Realm Masters now were cultivators from Abundance City. Yang Kai gave them the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills to help them achieve the Open Heaven Realm, giving them an extra reason to be grateful. Additionally, Yang Kai did not reveal a single trace of fear in face of two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, and even dauntlessly beheaded Kong Feng. This garnered even more of their respect for Yang Kai. It could be said that today’s victory had laid the foundation for Yang Kai’s supreme prestige in Void Land.
He achieved all of this although he was still just a trivial Emperor Realm cultivator!
Everyone was dismissed, each of them looking for a place to heal their wounds, while Bian Yu Qing was busy finalizing the cleanup.
Yang Kai spent a day in his room recovering from his injuries, but left to visit Zhu Jiu Yin once he no longer had difficulty moving about.
He wanted to find out more details about the turtle-shelled old man from Zhu Jiu Yin. Judging from the warning the woman gave him before, she must have been aware of his existence for some time. Maybe Zhu Jiu Yin knew something more about the turtle-shelled old man.
However, Zhu Jiu Yin’s door remained closed, probably busy recovering, or probably just deliberately ignoring him, which made Yang Kai extremely frustrated!
Unable to talk to Zhu Jiu Yin, Yang Kai had no choice but to head towards a different peak.
This peak was located in Earth Spirit Land.
Among the seven Spirit Lands of Void Land, Earth Spirit Land was located right in the centre and occupied the largest region. The previous Main Hall of Seven Wonders Land was located in Earth Spirit Land, while now, many important halls of Void Land were located here too.
Earth Spirit Land was comprised of many Spirit Peaks, and although the previous battle between Zhu Jiu Yin and the two High-Rank Open Heavens caused a huge mess and flattened many of them, there were still a lot left.
On one of the more inconspicuous peaks, Yang Kai sensed the presence of the turtle-shelled old man, not through his aura, but rather by tracing a faint bloodline connection.
Yang Kai had to understand why this Divine Spirit was hiding inside Void Land. Based on his stance before, the turtle-shelled old man did not have any malice towards him, but it was always good to be careful in everything.
When he came to the peak, Yang Kai did not rush up it, but gave a respectful salute, greeting in a clear and loud voice, “Junior Yang Kai has come to visit Senior. May Senior show himself.”
After shouting, a fiery red figure rushed down from the peak towards Yang Kai.
When it got closer, the figure was revealed to be a little girl who looked about seven or eight years old. She looked exceedingly adorable dressed in a fiery red dress, and even her hair was a brilliant scarlet, weaved into two little braids. Her delicate features and tender white skin made her look as though she was a beautiful doll.
The little girl stopped in front of Yang Kai, clenched her two small fists tightly, raised her small head, and looked at him with large, bright, excited eyes, “Y-Y-You… Young M-M-Mast… Master!”
“Hm…” Yang Kai hesitated, [Who’s this girl? Did Void Land not only have a hidden Divine Spirit, but also a delicate little girl like this?]
What made Yang Kai feel even odder was that the aura of this girl was somewhat familiar to him, as if he had sensed it before.
However, it was such a pity for such a dainty little girl to have such a heavy stutter…
Nonetheless, although she was small, her strength was immense. The aura she exuded was on par with a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master, and Yang Kai could sense a wisp of Monster Qi coming from her.
“Y-Y-Young… Mas… Mas… Master. It… it… it’s m-m-me… ah!” The little girl clenched her fists even more tightly as she shouted loudly, blood flushing into her face.
Yang Kai laughed and comforted, “Speak slowly, no one is rushing you.”
“I… I… I…” The little girl drew a big breath, unable to say anything audible and almost suffocating herself. She stomped her feet in frustration, shook her body, and exploded in a bright red flash, transforming into a massive creature in front of Yang Kai.
Stepping back quickly, Yang Kai looked up in shock and blurted out in a stunned voice, “Scarlet Flood Dragon?”
The creature in front of him was the Scarlet Flood Dragon he brought out from the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary!
The Scarlet Flood Dragon shook her head, exclaiming, “En, it’s me!”
It was the voice of the little girl from just now, just a little deeper.
Yang Kai was both surprised and delighted, “Have you gone through the Human Form Tribulation, and can now take on Human form?”
Any Monster Beast who wanted to cultivate and have a Human form must overcome the difficulty of Human Form Tribulation.
A Monster Beast’s Human Form Tribulation was related to its strength and level of sentience. If a Monster Beast’s sentience was developed and strong enough, it could assume Human Form, but if it was lacking, even the most powerful could not take Human Form.
Therefore, in the 3,000 Worlds, even though some Monster Beasts were as powerful as Open Heaven Realm Masters, they were still just beasts unable to assume Human Form, living on wild instinct alone.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon were both Monster Beasts born in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and they possessed faint traces of the Dragon Clan’s bloodline.
It was not surprising to have Dragonborn in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary; after all, Yang Kai found the corpse of an Earth Attribute Great Dragon in Sleeping Dragon Mountain, and obtained its Earth Attribute Dragon Bead, which he used to refine his own Earth Element Power.
Since there was even a True Dragon in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, how could it be strange to have Dragonborn? If they were not Dragonborn, Yang Kai would not have been able to subdue them so easily back then. Living in the environment of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, the strength of these two Monster Beasts was definitely not low.
However, the sentience of both the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon were in a muddy state before, so they could only be regarded as Monster Beasts. Since Yang Kai took them out of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Zhu Jiu Yin would teach them once in a while. After all, they were all natives of the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. After leaving the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Zhu Jiu Yin would sometimes feel a bit nostalgic about her home, so she would teach the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon as a way of venting her feelings. In fact, she treated them much better than Yang Kai.
Yang Kai also fed the two a lot of Dragon Blood Pills, which greatly improved the purity of their bloodline.
With Zhu Jiu Yin’s occasional training, and much purer bloodlines, over time, these two would eventually become capable of assuming Human Form.
Yang Kai had no doubt about this.
But he thought the process for this would require a much longer time to achieve, so he never expected to see the Human Form of the Scarlet Flood Dragon today!
Seeing that Yang Kai finally recognized her now, the Scarlet Flood Dragon was obviously elated. She turned back into the little red-haired, fair-skinned girl again. However, probably because it had only just passed her Human Form Tribulation, the transformation this time was not complete. Her tail remained and wagged excitedly, looking extremely strange.
The Scarlet Flood Dragon smiled sweetly and stuttered, “Y-Y-Young… M-Mas-Master, it, it, it’s me!”
She must have followed in Yue He’s footsteps to address Yang Kai as Young Master.
Yang Kai was shocked, “You’re female?”
The Scarlet Flood Dragon turned and twisted her body, her face flushed red, and she did not say a word while just smiling.
Yang Kai added, “But why are you stuttering?”
Blood flushed into the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s face, “I-I j-j-just, just learnt to, to, to talk. So, so, so I-I-I’m n-n-not, not fluent y-yet!”
A sudden realization dawned on Yang Kai, then he chuckled, “I see! En… Why are you here?” If he was not mistaken, this should be the residence of the turtle-shelled old man; therefore, he was puzzled to see the Scarlet Flood Dragon’s sudden appearance.
“G-G-Grandpa T-Turtle asked m-m-me to, to pick you up. It, it, it’s t-t-thanks, thanks to Grandpa-pa-pa T-T-Turtle that Xiao Hei and, and, and I c-can assume Human Form!”
Yang Kai followed Scarlet Flood Dragon all the way up the path as he finally understood why she was here from her spluttery narration. The Dragon Clan bloodline in her and the Earth Dragon’s bodies was greatly purified due to extensive feeding of Dragon Blood Pills from Yang Kai. In addition to Zhu Jiu Yin’s teachings, they were actually not far away from assuming Human Form.
Yesterday, the turtle-shelled old man suddenly appeared, before moving into this peak. The old man must have summoned these two over, and assisted them through their Human Form Tribulation, allowing them to assume Human Form through some unknown method.
Hearing this, Yang Kai’s eyes lit up and the hypothesis in his heart was further verified.
The peak was exceptionally high, rocky, and rugged, surrounded by clouds and mists. The atmosphere was quite awe-inspiring.
There was a cave in the mountainside where Scarlet Flood Dragon led Yang Kai. Inside the cave was an extremely spacious cave, decorated and furnished like a grand hall, that looked quite ancient, and had obviously been here for many years.
Yang Kai wondered how long this Spirit Peak had existed in Earth Spirit Land. He had searched this place before, but never found this cave. This was certainly due to his lack of strength. If the old man intended to hide here, Yang Kai would have no way to find him.
The Hundred Sect Alliance came to attack, two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters emerged all of a sudden, Zhu Jiu Yin turned Void Land upside down, and then the turtle-shelled old man had no choice but to show himself. Since he had revealed himself, there was no need to hide anymore.
Inside this cave, two figures sat opposite to each other. One was the turtle-shelled old man Yang Kai had met yesterday, while the other was a boy with black skin in a short shirt and messy black hair on his head, looking quite funny.
The turtle-shelled old man was caressing the boy’s head with a smile and drooping eyes on his face. His two long eyebrows hung all the way down to his chest, giving him the demeanour of an immortal sage.
Aware of Yang Kai’s entry, the boy hurriedly opened his eyes and turned to look at Yang Kai, revealing a look of joy as he jumped towards him.
When he got close, he stood still and stared up at him.
After his experience with the Scarlet Flood Dragon, Yang Kai certainly could recognize the boy and smiled, “Earth Dragon?”
“Yes! It’s, it’s me, Young Master!” The boy kept nodding. Apparently, he spoke more fluently than the Scarlet Flood Dragon. At least he did not stutter as much. However, looking at his mouth, Yang Kai’s brow couldn’t help twitching slightly.
In terms of image, the Scarlet Flood Dragon was much more impressive than the Earth Dragon. The appearance of the Earth Dragon could only be described as hideous. Every time he opened his big, wide mouth, highly corrosive mucus spewed everywhere. Even if Yang Kai grew fond of him over time, he would still feel a little disgusted each time he saw this sight.
Yang Kai thought that the giant Earth Dragon had changed into Human Form, taking on the appearance of a cute little boy, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his former drooling image overlapped with his current one. The edges of his big, wide mouth almost reached the root of his ears, and a mouthful of fangs were bared every time he opened his jaw. As soon as he spoke, drool dripped from the corner of his lips, which was then quickly sucked back into the big mouth…
Yang Kai’s hand could not help reaching his forehead, feeling a bit of a headache!
“You’re here,” The turtle-shelled old man sat up and looked at Yang Kai with a smile.
Yang Kai did not dare to hesitate, so he hurried forward a few steps and cupped his fist, “Junior Yang Kai greets Senior!”
“En, sit down,” the turtle-shelled old man gestured. Yang Kai thanked him before sitting on a futon opposite him.
The turtle-back old man continued, “Xiao Hong, Xiao Hei, go have fun outside first. I have some things to talk to your Young Master about.”
[Xiao Hong, Xiao Hei…] With a single thought, Yang Kai became aware of who he was referring to. It was the Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon. One of them was scarlet red and the other was dark black, so their nicknames were easy to understand.
“En!” The two little ones saluted respectfully and retreated obediently. They both held great respect for this old man who helped them through their Human Form Tribulation.
The turtle-shelled old man smiled at Yang Kai, “I know you have many doubts. If you have any questions, just ask. This Old Master will answer anything if he can.”
Yang Kai turned solemn as he did have a lot of questions. Since the old man was being so frank, he did not feel the need to act restrained. Still, before he got started, Yang Kai replied sincerely, “Firstly, this Junior must thank Senior for his timely assistance!”
The turtle-shelled old man waved his hand, “Don’t worry about it. Even if I didn’t show up at that time, there was no way for those two to take you away with the protection of that little Heavenly Moon Demon Spider that day.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Although Zhu Jiu Yin could have protected me alone, she could not protect the whole of Void Land. It is all thanks to Senior’s help that Void Land remained safe and sound.”
The turtle-shelled old man smiled faintly and said no more.
Yang Kai decided to change the topic, and went straight to the point, “May I ask if Senior is a Dragonborn?”
Since the turtle-shelled old man appeared, Yang Kai vaguely felt a connection in their bloodline. Given that Yang Kai was now much closer in terms of bloodline to the Dragon Clan than Human, if the old man had a connection with him, it was undoubtedly related to the Dragon Clan. In addition to his help in the Human Form transformation of Scarlet Flood Dragon and Earth Dragon, Yang Kai’s speculation was further affirmed.
It was precisely because he, the Scarlet Flood Dragon, and the Earth Dragon were all Dragonborn that this old man was willing to help.
“Correct, this Old Master is indeed a Dragonborn!” The turtle-shelled old man nodded calmly.
Yang Kai let out a soft breath. Many doubts were solved. It was exactly because Yang Kai was also a Dragonborn that this old man jumped out to save him, as they indeed shared some common heritage. Otherwise, as a Divine Spirit, why bother exposing himself to trouble after hiding in this place for so many years?
After pondering for a while, Yang Kai proceeded, “There is a saying that the Divine Dragon has nine sons. Which lineage of Dragonborn does Senior belong to?”
The turtle-shelled old man smiled, “Since you know about the Divine Dragon’s nine sons, do you know what they are?”
Yang Kai counted them out, “Qiu Niu is joyful, Ya Zi is bloodthirsty, Chao Feng is ominous, Pu Lao is loud, Suan Ni is shrouded in fog, Bi Xi bears a heavy load, Bi An is disputatiousness, Fu Xi is depicted on graves and monuments, Chi Wen swallows oceans…”
The turtle-shelled old man nodded, “Correct.”
“Then Senior…” Yang Kai looked at him hesitantly, and his eyes brightened, “Are you of the Bi Xi’s lineage?”
Among the nine sons, other than Bi Xi, there was nothing else that could match the image of the old man in front of him, which led Yang Kai to make such a guess.
“That’s right. This Old Master is indeed of the Bi Xi’s lineage.”
Yang Kai let out a soft breath. After clearing up this old man’s origin and background, Yang Kai knew that he truly did not mean to harm him. Since Yang Kai had a pure Dragon Clan bloodline and Bi Xi was also a Dragonborn, they were naturally all one family.
Before coming here, Yang Kai was still a little vigilant towards this old man, but now he was totally relieved. The old man in front of him was just like his Elder.
“Senior, have you been hiding in Void Land for many years?” Yang Kai talked to him casually with a smile.
Bi Xi chuckled meaningfully, “When this Old Master fell asleep, there was no Void Land here.”
Yang Kai patted his own head, “This place was originally known as Seven Wonders Land, but after defeating them it changed to Void Land.”
Bi Xi beamed, “No matter what its name, there was nothing here when this Old Master first arrived. If that little girl hadn’t jumped around on this Old Master’s back so much, this Old Master wouldn’t have awakened at all.”
He had mentioned this once before, so Yang Kai could not help laughing when he heard it again. For a dignified Divine Spirit like Zhu Jiu Yin to be called a little girl by Bi Xi was truly…
While laughing, Yang Kai’s face suddenly froze as a sudden realization dawned on him. He stared at the Bi Xi in front of him with his eyes widened, “What does Senior mean?”
Bi Xi chuckled, “Why do you even bother to ask when you’ve already guessed the truth?”
Yang Kai could not help gulping, the shock in his eyes becoming increasingly intense. He thought Bi Xi had been hiding in Void Land, slumbering for centuries or even millennia, but now it seemed that he had made a fundamental mistake.
“I’ll be right back!” Saying so, Yang Kai hurriedly flew off.
With a flicker, he left the cave palace with a surge of Space Principles and reappeared directly above Void Land. He took out the Array Jade, surged his power, and stretched out his hand. The churning clouds that enveloped Void Land quickly dissipated, and the entire Void Land was presented clearly to Yang Kai’s field of vision.
After a while of observation, Yang Kai sucked in a breath of cold air as his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
“Sect Master!” Bian Yu Qing suddenly rushed up from below in a panic, “What happened?”
She had been counting and cataloguing the tremendous gains from the previous battle when she noticed the sudden change in the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array. She thought another formidable enemy had come to invade Void Land, only to realize that there was actually no one.
Yang Kai did not answer immediately but instead continued to scan across the entire length of Void Land. Puzzled, Bian Yu Qing quickly stood beside him and followed his eyes.
“Second Manager, look carefully. What does Void Land look like to you?” Yang Kai suddenly pointed his hand down and asked.
Bian Yu Qing replied without even thinking, “A turtle!”
Yang Kai gaped at her!
Bian Yu Qing giggled, “Doesn’t it? We have seven Spirit Lands in Void Land, with Earth Spirit Land, being the largest, planted right in the middle, representing the turtle shell. Metal, Wood, Water, and Fire Spirit Land are arranged in the four corners of Earth Spirit Land, which correspond to the limbs, then Yin and Yang Spirit Lands are located at the top and bottom of Earth Spirit Land, representing the head and tail of the turtle, isn’t it?”
“Indeed… indeed!” Yang Kai nodded lightly and laughed, “Why didn’t I see it before?”
Bian Yu Qing explained, “Sect Master has so many matters to attend to, so how could you have the time to notice something like this.”
She stopped for a moment, then added, “Sect Master, is there any problem with Void Land?”
Yang Kai grinned, “No problem, no problem at all, hahahaha!”
Still cackling, he dived down again. Bian Yu Qing watched him leave, confused, wondering what in the world Yang Kai was thinking.
Yang Kai returned to the cave, sat down in front of Bi Xi again, took a deep breath, and asked respectfully, “Senior, may I know how old you are?”
Bi Xi replied, “I don’t remember! After living for so long, such things tend not to matter anymore.”
“Senior, your…” Yang Kai pointed at Bi Xi, struggling to form a description.
Fortunately, Bi Xi knew what he wanted to express, and smiled lightly, “I am this Old Master’s Embodiment.”
Yang Kai’s expression became solemn as he became more and more aware of the strength of the man before him. The spear of the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master from Myriad Demons Heaven did not even create a scratch on Bi Xi’s Embodiment. Bi Xi was also safe and sound, he just needed to shrink into his turtle shell. If a mere Embodiment already had such a strong defensive ability, what more need be said about his true form?
And Bi Xi’s true form was Void Land itself!
In other words, Bi Xi was not hidden in Void Land, but instead, Void Land was built atop Bi Xi’s body. Under the massive Void Land lay Bi Xi’s true form, but because the body was too large, it was far more convenient for Bi Xi to use his Embodiment to communicate.
This explained why Bi Xi was complaining that Zhu Jiu Yin was jumping on his back, since the whole of Void Land was built on his body.
He was a true, genuine behemoth! Yang Kai wondered how many years he had to live to reach such an enormous size.
However, Yang Kai was a little embarrassed and excited at the same time at the thought that the Void Land he established was actually built on such a Divine Spirit. It was embarrassing because Bi Xi was a living, breathing creature, a sentient one at that, so it was not exactly polite to build a Sect on his back, literally. However, based on Bi Xi’s reaction, he did not seem to care that much. If it was not for the intense battle previously, he might still have been asleep.
The exciting part was that Bi Xi was formidable, so as long as he was safe, Void Land would never suffer from disaster.
Though, it was still better to be more cautious. In the case Bi Xi no longer wanted to have a whole Sect living on him, Void Land would have to find a place to relocate.
After a bit of probing though, Yang Kai realized that Bi Xi obviously did not care about such things, allowing the former to breathe a sigh of relief.
Putting his mind at ease, Yang Kai spoke again, “As Dragonborn and having lived such a long life, this Junior has something to ask Senior!”
Bi Xi responded, “Let’s hear it.”
“Does Senior know where Dragon Altar is?”
Yang Kai had always wanted to find the Dragon Clan. Not to mention that he was considered to be carrying a pure Dragon Clan bloodline, Void Land had more than a dozen Dragon Clan members from Dragon Island. If he could locate Dragon Altar, he could return to his ancestral roots; and if he managed to form a relationship with the Dragon Clan, no one would dare to provoke Void Land anymore.
It was a pity that he had only heard of Dragon Altar, but did not know where it was located.
“Dragon Altar…” Bi Xi murmured and sighed slightly, “No one can trace Dragon Altar’s location except for the true members of the Dragon Clan. Although this Old Master is also Dragonborn and has lived an extremely long life, if you asked me where Dragon Altar is, this Old Master really cannot answer.”
“Even Senior doesn’t know!?” Yang Kai was stunned.
Bi Xi answered, “The place where the Dragon Clan is established is also the foundation of the Dragon Clan. It is reasonable for no others to be able to pry into it! The Dragon Clan is strong, but equally proud, so they have offended many over the years. If Dragon Altar were to be exposed, it may attract unnecessary trouble, so only true members of the Dragon Clan will know where Dragon Altar is.”
After a slight pause, Bi Xi looked at Yang Kai curiously, “Speaking of which, this Old Master has something to ask you.”
“Senior, please speak!” Yang Kai sat upright.
Bi Xi began, “The Dragon Clan bloodline in your body is extremely pure and rich, far more so than even this Old Master’s Dragon Vein. Logically speaking, you should be a member of the Dragon Clan, but why does this Old Master have a feeling that you’re not?”
Yang Kai laughed, “Senior is right, this Junior only obtained his Dragon Clan bloodline because he had fortunately refined a Dragon Source in his early years. I’m not of Dragon Clan origin.”
Bi Xi was enlightened, “So that’s the case. That Dragon Source must be very strong.”
Yang Kai was not sure of that, but judging from the reactions of those from Dragon Island, it was indeed not bad. But this was the Outer Universe after all, it could be a different case here.
“If you want to find where Dragon Altar is, this Old Master can’t help you. You can only rely on yourself.”
“Please enlighten me, Senior,” Yang Kai implored politely.
With a chuckle, Bi Xi explained, “With such a pure Dragon Vein, even as a Human, your bloodline can be continuously improved. Cultivate diligently while stimulating the power of your Dragon Source to further refine your bloodline. Keep doing so, and sooner or later, you will become a true Dragon Clan member. By then, you will naturally be able to sense where Dragon Altar is.”
Although Bi Xi was strong, his Dragon Clan bloodline was not of pure origin, and at his age, he could no longer improve it, so even if he was a rare Master in the 3,000 Worlds, it was absolutely impossible for him to locate the Dragon Altar.
Having said that, Bi Xi rubbed his hands together a little apologetically with an awkward smile on his face, “Someday, this Old Master would like to ask you, Little Friend, to take me to Dragon Altar as well.”
Yang Kai looked at him curiously.
Bi Xi explained, “This Old Master is also Dragonborn after all, and Dragon Altar is a supreme existence in the hearts of all Dragonborn. This Old Master’s greatest wish in life is to take a look at the origin of his own bloodline. If this wish can be fulfilled, I will die without regret.”
Yang Kai was stunned, but nodded and promised, “Don’t worry Senior, although I don’t know when it will happen, that day will come.”
Bi Xi lit up at his answer.
The old man, Bi Xi, was very talkative. Yang Kai was grateful for his previous help, and in addition to both having Dragon Veins, they naturally had a sense of familiarity.
However, although this old man was so powerful, he was extremely timid. He reminded Yang Kai countless times to avoid provoking the Cave Heavens and Paradises. All of Cave Heavens and Paradises were ancient monsters that must not be trifled with.
Yang Kai naturally nodded and agreed, but felt helpless on the inside. After all, since when did he want to provoke them? It was all because they were anxious that he wanted to achieve the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. That was why he became a target of the Hundred Sect Alliance.
But at this point, there was no room for turning back. Presumably, no one would be harassing Void Land again in the short term after the Hundred Sect Alliance was wiped out, unless the Cave Heavens and Paradises led the attack in person.
However, none of the Cave Heavens and Paradises would be willing to forego their dignity for this.
Therefore, as long as Yang Kai remained sheltered in Void Land, he should be fine. Now that there were two Divine Spirits in Void Land, one of which was Bi Xi, who had lived for countless years. If the enemy did not send an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, there was no way they could do anything to him!
After chatting with Bi Xi for a whole day and obtaining some guidance on how to improve his Dragon Clan bloodline, Yang Kai began to feel like he had spent too much time here and finally excused himself.
He had not recovered from his injuries completely, but because he wanted to get a feel for Bi Xi’s attitude and background, he decided to prioritize this meeting. Now, Yang Kai naturally had to go back to continue his recovery.
Before leaving, Bi Xi stopped him, “Little Friend, this Old Master has a presumptuous request!”
Yang Kai replied, “Senior, please speak!”
Bi Xi answered, “This Old Master won’t be falling asleep again for a short while after waking up this time. Time does bring great changes to life after all. The people who used to serve me have all passed away now, so this Old Master wants to request for those two little ones to keep me company.”
Yang Kai smiled when he heard the words, “Are Xiao Hei and Xiao Hong good choices to serve by Senior’s side?”
Bi Xi chuckled, “En, very good. Many thanks Little Friend.”
Yang Kai responded, “It is their blessing to be able to stay by Senior’s side since the two of them were only able to pass their Human Form Tribulations after Senior’s enlightenment.”
After a pause, Yang Kai added, “If Senior is bored, feel free to go down the mountain more, we have many members of the Dragon Clan in Void Land.”
It was indeed Xiao Hong’s and Xiao Hei’s blessing that they could follow Bi Xi. Bi Xi had lived for many years and had knowledge to match. Any wisdom that he could pass to them would benefit them for life.
Yang Kai also wanted to get closer to Bi Xi, so he took this opportunity to do him a favour.
After returning to his own room, Yang Kai continued to heal while in retreat.
Ten days later, in the Main Conference Hall of Earth Spirit Land, Yang Kai sat at the head seat, with the Left and Right Protectors, Yue He and Mo Mei, to his left and right. Further below were the members of the Elder Council.
Yue He and Mo Mei were Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, while among the members of the Elder Council, other than Chen Tian Fei being a Fourth-Order, the rest were all Fifth-Order. Void Land had now become a place full of upcoming talents, and not many places in the entire 3,000 Worlds could compare with them.
Furthermore, Void Land was founded just a few years ago. Compared to it, how many generations had those top-tier Second Class great forces inherited to become where they were today? Of course, Void Land had the upper hand mostly thanks to the recruitment of the Abundance City cultivators, but this was also due to Yang Kai’s capabilities.
It was the first time that the leaders of Void Land had gathered for such a meeting to discuss its future direction.
However, before that, they talked to each other about all the gains and losses of the previous battle. Although it was a landslide victory for Void Land, it did not mean that they did not make any mistakes. Any great force that rose would have to go through all kinds of hardships. Such a battle was the nutrient and catalyst for the growth of Void Land, and it only did good to Void Land but no harm.
The scene of everyone’s bustling discussion was rather lively.
When the crowd calmed down a little, Yang Kai started, “Although our Void Land has won a complete victory in this battle, we shouldn’t take things lightly. Don’t ever think that the great forces of 3,000 Worlds are easy to bully. This time, we had the upper hand because the enemy had extremely limited or outright inaccurate information about us and the power of our Grand Array, which is why we could have such outstanding results. If Kong Feng had known the heritage of our Void Land in advance, it would have been a far, far more difficult battle. Everyone should strive to cultivate and strengthen yourselves going forward.”
Everyone naturally agreed with him; after all, they were already aware of this without Yang Kai needing to say it. Although there were a lot of Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land, 99% of them had only just broken through. They were insufficient in terms of heritage and their foundations weren’t even stable yet. When fighting alone with the cultivators in the same Realm, they would obviously be put at a disadvantage. Regarding this, Yue He and Mo Mei clearly experienced it.
Especially Mo Mei. When she was fighting against Luan Bai Feng, she was being suppressed almost the whole time and could only keep defending herself.
However, they would need a lot of resources if everyone started cultivating, especially Open Heaven Pills and cultivation materials of all Orders would be in high demand.
If they did not recently experience such a battle, the finances in Void Land would be tight again.
Fortunately, they had killed almost 10,000 enemies in the recent battle, and gained many spoils of war, which was sufficient to meet the needs of Void Land for a short time.
Second Manager Bian Yu Qing immediately stood up and briefly reported the amount seized. After listening for a while, Yang Kai nodded lightly and ordered, “Second Manager, please take care of the matter of cultivation resources, we must make sure we meet the needs of all cultivators in the Sect.”
Bian Yu Qing replied respectfully, “Yes!”
A contribution points system had been implemented in Void Land now. All the cultivators who participated in the previous battle had earned a large number of contribution points and could exchange them for the resources they needed. As for how to keep supply and demand in balance, Yang Kai did not need to worry about it, for Bian Yu Qing and the Elder Council would come up with a solution.
Yang Kai looked around as his fingers gently clasped the armrest of his chair as he added, “But we can’t just sit idly and consume our resources. Any great force that wishes to prosper needs a variety of income sources, which our Void Land currently lacks. Although we earned a great deal this time, sooner or later, there will come a day when those spoils will be depleted. If we want to grow and flourish in the future, we need to start earning as well.”
Yun Xing Hua immediately cupped his fist, “Sir, please allow this subordinate to return to the Star City. I will definitely take care of it well for Sir!”
Yang Kai responded, “Naturally, we can’t lose the Star City as it is our greatest source of income and will likely continue to be so in the future. However, with the current scale of the Star City, I’m afraid it won’t be sufficient to supply Void Land in the long run.”
In the past, the number of Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land was small, so the income of the Star City could still balance the budget, and even run a small surplus. But the situation was different now. With the addition of more than 300 Open Heaven Realm Masters all at once, the daily consumption of Open Heaven Pills alone became a massive number, so the revenue of the Star City was falling far short.
Yang Kai looked around and asked, “Does anyone have any good ideas?”
The group from Abundance City looked around at each other but did not know what to do. After all, they just entered the Outer Universe, and knew nothing about the outside world. Since now the topic was about the continuous development of Void Land, what good suggestions could they give?
Yun Xing Hua pondered a little and then cupped his fist, “Sir, perhaps we could find a way to procure more resources in Void Territory.”
Yang Kai turned to look at him, “Tell me more.”
Yun Xing Hua explained, “In any Great Territory, there are many great forces and Universe Worlds. The periphery of these great forces and the various Universe Worlds should have been developed long ago. If there were resources anywhere, they would have been pocketed by others by now. However, this does not mean that there is no value in searching the rest of the Great Territory. Perhaps there are some unknown places that contain undiscovered resources, especially the existence of Universe Cave Heavens and Universe Paradises. A Universe Paradise was found 3,000 years ago in our Shocking Swan Territory, inside Shocking Swan Pavilion’s domain. It was precisely because of the development of that Universe Paradise that Shocking Swan Pavilion became the overlord of Shocking Swan Territory!”
Yang Kai raised his brow, “A Universe Paradise?”
Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens were the Small Universes left behind after the death of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. The Small Universes of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were essentially no different from true Universe Worlds; therefore, after such a Master’s death, there was a chance that the Small Universes in their body would not collapse but instead maintain its structure and merge with the Void.
The remnant of a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s death would be a Universe Paradise, while the remnant of an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master’s death would be a Universe Cave Heaven!
Blood Monster Cave Heaven was a Universe Cave Heaven!
Yun Xing Hua continued, “Since Ancient Times, how many High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters have been born in the 3,000 Worlds? After the death of those High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, the Small Universes in their bodies will sometimes be left behind. Although most High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters will return to their native territories before death, there are always exceptions. It could be said that almost every Great Territory of the 3,000 Worlds has Universe Paradises and Universe Cave Heavens. However, the entrances of these places are always closed and ordinary people can’t enter them at all. So, it’s natural to not be able to find them.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Yun Xing Hua added, “Therefore, as long as we can find such an entrance, we can inherit all the legacies of that fallen High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master!” All High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters had extremely abundant heritages. One could infer by the example of the situation in Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
To the side, Chen Tian Fei frowned, “I’m afraid it will not be that easy.”
Yun Xing Hua cupped his fist as he replied, “If we don’t even try, we will never know. There may be some opportunities! This subordinate should bear the burden of this search for Sir, but regarding this matter, it would be better to have someone with higher cultivation handle it…”
Pang Duo immediately got up and offered himself, “I’ll go!”
Yun Xing Hua quickly proclaimed, “Elder Pang is a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, so it would be appropriate for him to carry out this task. Moreover, even if we can’t find a Universe Cave Heaven or Universe Paradise, it would still be worth it if we found some undiscovered Universe World or Spirit Province.”
Yang Kai pondered for a while and announced, “Let’s discuss this again next time.”
Although the legacies of High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were truly attractive and it would be of great help to Void Land if such a legacy could be found, there was no trace of such things appearing in Void Territory for so many years. If they looked for it now, they might not be able to find anything. The Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land needed time to consolidate their cultivations, so there was no time to waste for the time being.
It would not ne too late to look for such buried treasure when Void Land had completely stabilized in the future.
Yue He proposed, “It seems that we can only expand the scale of the Star City for now. If the scale of the Star City expands, we could increase our income.”
Yang Kai smiled lightly, “I think so too.”
But Yue He was still a little worried, “But Young Master, given that Void Land has just encountered a great battle, and with the rumours surrounding the Star City from before, the fame and reputation that was gained has almost all been used up. Although we don’t know what the situation in the Star City is now, it certainly will not be good.”
Before, Void Land attracted a large number of great forces by marketing complete sets of Fifth-Order materials, which brought the Star City its short-lived prosperity. However, with the invasion of the Hundred Sect Alliance, and with Yun Xing Hua and the others, who were guarding the Star City, captured alive, it must be in a mess now.
The news of this battle would definitely spread too. Of course, it would make Void Land famous, but it would not sweep away the many negative effects either. If someone was afraid of Heavenly Sword Union or the other Sects in the Hundred Sect Alliance, they may not have the courage to trade in Void Star City again.
Furthermore, there were some Cave Heavens and Paradises backing Heavenly Sword Union. No one dared to offend the Cave Heavens and Paradises by visiting Void Star City. If no one came, the Star City would naturally be deserted; therefore, being able to maintain the Star City was already good enough, while expanding it seemed hopeless.
Yang Kai smiled faintly, “Since fame can be depleted, it can naturally be regained too. As long as Void Land offers up something attractive enough, why would we worry about customers not coming?”
Yue He looked at Yang Kai thoughtfully, “What Young Master means is…”
Yang Kai answered, “If we sell Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills, I believe the Star City will soon become famous!”
The Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill could greatly improve the chance of a cultivator successfully breaking through to the Open Heaven Realm. Such a good thing would be coveted by everyone, leading to a huge demand for it. Even the Cave Heavens and Paradises would want these pills too. It could be imagined that once this news was spread, perhaps the entire 3,000 Worlds would go crazy about it. By then, countless people would flock to Void Star City.
“But Young Master, if we do this, all of Void Land’s Open Heaven Realm Masters would be needed to guard the Star City,” Yue He frowned.
The Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was an enviable treasure. Without enough power to keep watch over the Star City, it would be difficult to guarantee that it would not lead to riots. Thus, even if all the Void Land Open Heaven Realm Masters were dispatched, they may not be able to prevent such riots from occurring either. This was tantamount to playing with fire.
But if all the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land were dispatched at the same time, what would happen to the Headquarters? It took a huge amount of resources to construct the Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array, so how could they just give it up? Not to mention the more than ten 600,000 disciples Yang Kai brought over from the Star Boundary to Void Land. It was impossible for him to abandon them.
In short, with Void Land’s current situation, they had to choose between the Headquarters or the Star City to care for. It was obvious to everyone, and worry filled their faces as soon as they heard Yang Kai’s words.
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “I have a plan, don’t worry.”
If it was before, Yang Kai may not have come up with this idea. Void Land was his roots, the foundation of his foothold in the 3,000 Worlds. Hundreds of thousands of disciples lived here, so he would be reluctant to give it up no matter what. He would rather allow the Star City to slowly deteriorate. Doing so would likely lead to Void Star City existing in name only within a few years.
But after learning about Bi Xi, a very bold idea crept into Yang Kai’s mind!
Of course, if this idea was to be realized, Old Man Bi Xi would need to cooperate with them. Yang Kai felt that this wouldn’t be much of an issue though.
Developing the Star City, expanding its scale, and re-establishing its popularity was a necessity to ensure Void Land’s continued growth.
For one, without the stable income provided by the Star City, the cultivation resources in Void Land would become a problem sooner rather than later. For another, the High-Rank Yin Element material that Yang Kai needed might be found in this Star City if it expanded enough.
The ambush by the Hundred Sect Alliance made Yang Kai realize that there were some Cave Heavens and Paradises that were already getting anxious to bring him down, and were prepared to suffocate him, a potential future threat, while he was still in the cradle.
In this case, it was impossible for him to search for the cultivation resources he needed outside; otherwise, he would be creating chances for others to kill him!
The Proprietress told him before that she would help him look for a High-Rank Yin Element treasure, but even as a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, the Proprietress would need to be extremely lucky to obtain such a rare and valuable resource.
It was not that Yang Kai did not trust the Proprietress, but the current situation gave him a new sense of urgency. He needed to improve his strength, and fast. If he could get what he needed himself, he would not need to trouble the Proprietress.
Yang Kai still did not know that the Proprietress had already stormed into a Forbidden Zone with the three shop hands from First Inn, just to look for a High-Rank Yin Element material for him inside. With the presence of the Proprietress, there was a high chance of success.
It was precisely because of this news that Kong Feng had rushed the ambush with the Hundred Sect Alliance; otherwise, it would be too late once the Proprietress returned and Yang Kai managed to condense a High-Order Yin Element Power.
In the current situation, if Yang Kai could not search for resources outside, he could only wait for others to deliver what he needed to his door. But if he had nothing to offer them, how was he going to attract others to trade here?
Therefore, the reputation of Void Star City needed to be raised, and all he could use now was the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill.
Yang Kai was aware of the various risks that selling the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill could bring, but he had no choice. Compared to the risks involved, the possible gains were far greater.
High-Rank materials were hard to find, but Yang Kai was sure that the major Cave Heavens and Paradises would have some! So, to get his hands on a High-Rank Yin Element treasure, he would need to start with the Cave Heavens and Paradises!
There were 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises. While he was an eyesore to some and they wanted to clip his wings before he could fly, some just stood by and watched idly, while a few even wanted to win him over. There were differing opinions about him; however, regardless of which Cave Heaven or Paradise it was, none of them would be willing to watch him achieve the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm directly. As proof, Qu Hua Shang from Yin-Yang Cave Heaven proposed he marry into their Sect, but even that came with the prerequisite that he only break through to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
It could be said that Yin-Yang Cave Heaven had given him the warmest attitude, but could Yang Kai accept such a condition? His foundation was so solid that if he did not achieve the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm directly, he would regret it for the rest of his life. So, even though he had a close personal relationship with Qu Hua Shang, Yang Kai did not hesitate to reject Yin-Yang Cave Heaven’s proposal.
He was well aware that all troubles would be gone as long as he joined Yin-Yang Cave Heaven, but the stability that came at the cost of his own future might not last forever, for he feared that his regrets would overwhelm him in the future and hinder his Martial Dao.
No Cave Heaven or Paradise would allow him to break through to the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm, but that was only while Yang Kai was not qualified to speak and trade with them on even terms. However, with the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills in his possession, Yang Kai was sure they would be moved.
As long as they were tempted, there would be a possibility for an exchange!
Aside from the Cave Heavens and Paradises, there just might be a cultivator out in the vast 3,000 Worlds who possessed a High-Rank Yin Element material. However, due to its exceedingly high value, even if someone did obtain such a treasure, they may not have the courage to take it out. There would probably be some who possessed such treasures but kept them hidden. People like this probably would not be very strong, but they may have descendants or Disciples who could possibly advance to the Open Heaven Realm.
Regardless of the circumstances, the High-Rank Yin Element treasure that Yang Kai needed had to fall into the Star City, and using the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was the best bait!
With all these considerations, the expansion of the Star City became inevitable.
Regarding the matter of Void Land and Void Star City, Yang Kai had made a decision. Since he said that he would take care of everything, even if others were still feeling doubtful, they dared not say anything more.
Immediately afterwards, Yang Kai ordered a number of Open Heaven Realm cultivators to head to the subordinate Sects under Void Land in order to ask them to contribute some territory to expand the Star City!
Void Land was not the only great force in Void Territory; there were also 7 Third Class great forces such as Golden Light Dock and Soaring Crane Sect, but even the strongest among these Third Class great forces were still just Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. They used to serve Seven Wonders Land, so after Seven Wonders Land was replaced by Void Land, they naturally followed the lead of Void Land.
In the 3,000 Worlds, the structure of these great forces had always been a hierarchical one.
Each of these Third Class great forces watched over a few Universe Worlds. Now that Yang Kai had requested to expand the scale of the Star City, they agreed, as it was not a big deal, nor did they dare to refuse to contribute some Spirit Peaks from their Universe Worlds to the process.
After the discussion was over, the crowd dispersed, and Yang Kai made another trip to Dragon Sons’ Peak.
Now that Bi Xi lived on that Spirit Peak, there had to be a name for it, and Yang Kai took it upon himself to name it ‘Dragon Sons’ Peak’.
They met and talked, and Yang Kai left after less than a stick of incense. Yang Kai came for a favour this time, and since it was just a small effort for Old Man Bi Xi, he did not refuse.
After a few days, everything was prepared.
Yang Kai stood in the air above Void Land, while a group of Open Heaven Realm Masters looked up from below. Waiting silently below were not just the many Open Heaven Realm Masters, but also many other cultivators who had received the news.
Everyone in Void Land, regardless of who, had received the same instructions, “Do not enter seclusion that cannot be interrupted, because there would be a lot of movement in Void Land today. If one was disturbed at a critical moment, they may be injured.”
Yang Kai personally sent someone to pass down this order, and everyone naturally attached great importance to it.
The several Great Emperors gathered together, and Zhan Wu Hen looked at the sky in confusion, muttering, “What is that brat doing?”
Mo Huang urged, “Why not just go and ask if you want to know?”
Zhan Wu Hen turned to look at him, “Why don’t you ask?”
Mo Huang shrugged, “I’ll know in a moment anyway, why bother asking?”
After speaking, Mo Huang and Zhan Wu Hen looked at each other for a moment before they turned away from each other.
How noble were the two Great Emperors back in the Star Boundary? When faced with this situation, they would definitely rush forward without hesitation to demand ‘Brat, what are you doing?’ And that brat would probably not dare to hide anything.
But now they did not think of asking at all. It was not that they had no courage, rather it was because Yang Kai was now dealing with all kinds of Open Heaven Realm Masters, and they were not capable enough to interfere.
They were not able to help in the battle against foreign enemies just recently, which really made them, the Great Emperors, very uneasy.
Mo Huang took a breath and declared, “We have to advance to the Open Heaven Realm as soon as possible!”
All the Great Emperors nodded like chickens pecking rice.
Elsewhere, Yue He and Mo Mei came together, “Big Sister Yue He, what is Sect Master doing?” Mo Mei asked curiously.
Yue He shook her head slowly, “I don’t know. Young Master just said that there may be a large movement today, but that everyone doesn’t need to panic.”
Mo Mei was surprised, “You don’t know either?”
In Void Land, the closest person to Yang Kai outside his wives was definitely Yue He, so Mo Mei naturally thought Yue He would know something about this, but even she had no clue.
Yue He smiled slightly, “Since Young Master has given such an order, he must have his own plans. We just need to wait and watch.”
Mo Mei nodded and agreed, still puzzled. The meeting before was regarding the Star City’s expansion and raising its popularity. In fact, Yang Kai had also immediately sent representatives to their subordinate forces to get them to contribute land to expand the size of the Star City.
The various signs showed that Yang Kai would be focusing on Void Star City, and manpower was needed to develop the Star City, so why were they all assembled here in the Headquarters, just waiting?
As they were all wondering, they heard Yang Kai’s booming voice from above, “It’s time, Senior!”
From the depths of Void Land came the voice of the turtle-shelled old man from that day, “It’s just a minor matter, everyone stand firm!”
When the words fell, rumbling sounds suddenly came from all over Void Land, and the ground shook violently. Countless cultivators lost their balance and many almost fell to the ground, forcing them to fly up into the sky.
In an instant, the sky above Void Land was densely filled with human figures.
A terrifying aura suddenly erupted from Void Land, as if a sleeping Dragon was awakening. The aura was so powerful that it even terrified Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like Yue He and Mo Mei.
Fortunately, the aura was retracted a moment later; otherwise, the hundreds of thousands of weak disciples in Void Land would not have been able to survive.
With such a big movement, Void Land seemed like it was about to collapse, and everyone was naturally terrified.
Mo Mei turned her head to look around, trying to figure out what was happening, but her eyes soon bulged as she pointed in a certain direction and exclaimed, “Big Sister Yue He, look over there!”
Yue He’s gaze followed Mo Mei’s finger, her hand flying to her red lips when she saw what her fellow Protector was pointing at. In that direction, where the ground was shaking, a huge head had suddenly appeared.
A gargantuan behemoth that appeared like the head of a turtle had emerged at the location of Yang Spirit Land, with the entire Yang Spirit Land planted on this head.
Yue He suddenly seemed to realize something and she quickly soared into the air. When she turned around to look, thick and outrageously massive feet emerged beneath Metal, Wood, Water, and Fire Spirit Land. When she looked down further beneath Yin Spirit Land, there was even a tail…
A picture was drawn in her mind involuntarily. The entire Void Land seemed to be carried on the back of a giant turtle!
Yue He was stunned!
She had lived here for years now, but she never once thought that such a huge secret was ever hidden under Void Land. In conjunction with the appearance of the turtle-shelled old man a few days ago, she vaguely had an idea of the situation.
The Open Heaven Realm Masters were both horrified and shocked at the sight of Old Man Bi Xi’s true form, but more than anything, they were excited.
“Aoo…” Bi Xi raised his head and let out a long, Earth-shaking howl that shook the world, then slowly turned his body, and moved his limbs in the direction that Yang Kai pointed, carrying the entire Void Land in the direction of the Star City.
While his movements were not fast, his speed was anything but slow. Everyone in Void Land felt a rapid acceleration and soon saw the outside world moving backwards as quickly as lightning.
Realization dawned, and Mo Mei exclaimed, “So this is Sect Master’s plan.”
With the current strength of Void Land and the enemies it had made, they could only choose between their Headquarters and the Star City, abandoning the other. However, if the entire Void Land was migrated next to the Star City, the problem would be solved. For others, relocating a Headquarters was a near-impossible task, but it was not a problem for Void Land.
Looking at the entire 3,000 Worlds, Void Land was probably the only Sect which could so easily do something like this. It was impossible for any of the Cave Heavens or Paradises to emulate.
With the help of this giant Divine Spirit, Yang Kai did not need to worry about the rest. All he needed to do was to give Bi Xi a direction, and the latter would carry Void Land towards the Star City.
The journey took only seven days.
During that time, Pang Duo received orders from Yang Kai to bring some subordinates to check out the situation in the Star City ahead of them.
After Yun Xing Hua and the others were captured by Heavenly Sword Union while on duty in the Star City, no one knew what the situation had become. Since they planned to re-model and re-invigorate the Star City, much more focus would be placed on operating it as well.
On Dragon Sons’ Peak, Yang Kai and Old Man Bi Xi sat opposite each other, a chessboard planted between them, while Xiao Hong and Xiao Hei served tea. Bi Xi was a superb chess player, and Yang Kai was clearly not worthy to be his opponent. His soldiers were annihilated after two to three rounds, sending them flying pell-mell, while Yang Kai scratched his head and ears in embarrassment.
Bi Xi was quickly bored, “Boy, your skills are quite lacking. It’s quite boring to play with you.”
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes at him, fighting the urge to simply flip the board. After getting along for a few days, the both of them became better acquainted. Yang Kai found that although this old man had extraordinary strength and knowledge, he was not the slightest bit pretentious. He was friendly and amiable, so Yang Kai naturally did not need to act overly polite.
While cracking his neck to try to break the game plan, Yue He suddenly stepped in, “Young Master, we are approaching the Star City.”
“Oh? We’re here already? That was fast!” Yang Kai hurriedly got up, ‘accidentally’ scattering the remaining chess pieces in his hand onto the board, completely messing up the arrangement. Patting his butt, he loudly declared, “Let’s go and have a look!”
Old Man Bi Xi naturally grabbed him, “Where are you going? Finish this game first!”
Yang Kai looked down at the chessboard, and snickered, “This board is a mess now, how can we continue to play? I’ll accompany Senior again when I have time.”
Bi Xi was relentless, “Smelly brat! Cheating and running away is not a good thing!”
Yang Kai retorted, “Important matters come first, and there will be plenty of chances to play again in the long run. Why are you in such a hurry?”
Bi Xi shook his head, “I don’t care, you are not allowed to leave until the game is over.”
Yang Kai had been humiliated by him on numerous occasions over the past few days. This old man had a bad habit of taunting Yang Kai verbally while crushing him at chess, and was thoroughly enjoying it. Perhaps he was just too bored after having been asleep for way too long.
Yang Kai simply had enough! Now that he had an excuse to leave, why would he remain?
But the old man continued holding on to him. Speechless, Yang Kai rolled his eyes before pointing at Yue He, “Old man, if you want to play chess, just ask her! Yue He’s chess skills are far superior to mine. She will teach you how high the Heavens are and how thick the Earth is!”
“Me?” Yue He blinked and pointed at her nose.
Yang Kai shook off Bi Xi’s hand in a moment of distraction, yanked Yue He over and pushed her down on his seat, encouraging earnestly, “This old guy likes to play chess, you accompany him!”
“But Young Master, I…”
“It’s been decided!” Yang Kai did not dare to stay any longer and immediately fled after he finished speaking.
Yue He and Bi Xi stared at each other.
After a long time, Yue He forced a smile, “Please show mercy, Senior.”
…
The Star City was right in front of them. Standing above Void Land, one could already make out the outline of the Spirit Province it was located on. Speaking of which, Yang Kai had never been to Void Star City, and he did not even know the scale of his own Star City until now. From the looks of it right now, this Star City did not seem to be impressive. Compared with an ordinary medium-sized Star City, it was even slightly inferior, not to mention comparing it to Thousand Birds Star City.
However, Yang Kai believed that as soon as the news of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill got out, Void Star City would be crowded!
A group of people approached, and Yang Kai reached out to open the Grand Array, allowing them to fly straight into Void Land. It was Pang Duo and the others.
“Sect Master!” Pang Duo cupped his fists.
Yang Kai nodded and asked, “How’s the situation over there?”
Pang Duo replied, “When this subordinate and the others arrived, the Star City was practically empty, with only a few people left.”
Yang Kai nodded. It was just as he expected.
Void Land was invaded by the Hundred Sect Alliance, and everyone would have agreed that Void Land was done for. Since this Void Star City was the Star City under Void Land’s jurisdiction, who would dare to stay here? If the Hundred Sect Alliance came to cause trouble after their victory, anyone left here would surely suffer a tragic fate. The merchants who originally entered the Star City had withdrawn one after another, so there would not be too many people left.
However, no one would have thought that the Hundred Sect Alliance would be completely crushed by Void Land, with almost their entire force being wiped out. Even the Union Master of Heavenly Sword Union, Kong Feng, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, was beheaded by Yang Kai’s sword and died.
The current mess in Void Star City was due to the lack of hope for Void Land and the lack of order maintained.
After Pang Duo and the others arrived, they immediately set about rectifying the situation. Although it had only been a few days, the order had been restored to the Star City, but nothing could be done about the ghostly stillness due to the extreme lack of population. If this situation continued, it would not be long before all the merchants in the Star City left, and Void Star City would only exist in name.
But now that Yang Kai had relocated Void Land, and with the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill as his ace, it was only a matter of time before the popularity of the Star City was revived.
Pang Duo added, “Golden Light Dock, Soaring Crane Sect, and the other Third Class forces all heeded the orders and brought some spirit land to expand the scale of the Star City. I believe it won’t take long to complete.”
Yang Kai nodded, “Offer them our sincere thanks. Second Manager!”
Bian Yu Qing stepped forward and reported, “Sir.”
“Go back and give them some compensation, Void Land does not take advantage of others.”
Although these Third Class Sects swore loyalty to Void Land, and dared not complain even if they were not compensated, the spirit lands they contributed were all taken out from their respective Headquarters or subordinate Universe Worlds, which would naturally cause some damage to their respective heritages. It was understandable to compensate them with something.
Bian Yu Qing received the order and quickly moved to carry it out.
While they were speaking, the Star City had come into full view.
It was impossible for the cultivators in the Star City to miss the massive Void Land charging at them through the void. Expressions of shock and confusion were etched on their faces. Some timid ones had even fled, for fear that Void Land would crash into the Star City. They did not want to fall victim to such a tragedy. The remaining cultivators continued to watch, but they looked as though they were ready to run at any time.
Fortunately, Void Land was clearly decelerating, and it came to a stop just a hundred kilometres away from the Star City. This situation relieved the anxious cultivators in the Star City who were about to escape.
But the situation in front of them really puzzled them. What was going on?
However, they were astonished again when they saw the giant turtle below Void Land.
Since Bi Xi’s true form had been revealed, he did not bother to conceal himself anymore. It would be known sooner or later, so it was meaningless to hide. However, it was still a true rarity to witness such a giant turtle shuttling through the void with a great Spirit Province carried on its back.
Just as the cultivators in the Star City were whispering amongst themselves, a group of people suddenly flew out from Void Land and headed straight to them in a vigorous and imposing manner. The leader was naturally Yang Kai, followed by many Open Heaven Realm Masters beside him.
Yang Kai and the others soon stopped in the sky over the Star City before the eyes of everyone. With a quick scan, Yang Kai took in the situation below. The condition of the Star City was neither bad nor good, which was expected. However, regardless of its condition, it would develop slowly in the future.
In the crowd, an elderly man bravely stepped out, cupped his fists and greeted, “So it is Sir Yun. This old man greets Sir Yun!”
Yun Xing Hua, who was standing not far behind Yang Kai, looked down and recognized the man. He had been taking care of the Star City for a while now, and was naturally familiar with these merchants. He glanced at Yang Kai, then nodded when Yang Kai remained indifferent, “So it is Shopkeeper Tong!”
Shopkeeper Tong replied, “I heard that Sir Yun was captured by wicked evildoers recently. This old man had been feeling uneasy and wanted to help, but was helpless due to his old age and failing strength. Now that Sir Yun has returned safely, this old man can finally breathe easily. Sir Yun is indeed a good person blessed with luck.”
Shopkeeper Tong appeared to be quite old, but he was only a Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. At first glance, he looked like a person from a humble background. There were countless cultivators in the Outer Universe, and most weren’t as lucky as the disciples of Void Land who had a good cultivation environment and abundant cultivation resources.
With limited aptitude and resources, even if many cultivators could reach the Open Heaven Realm, it would only be the trivial Second Order, and they would remain in that Order until they passed away.
Even among the more than 300 Open Heaven Realm Masters from Abundance City, 89 of them were Second-Order, not to mention cultivators from other places.
For people like Shopkeeper Tong, an Open Heaven Realm Master with no background and low strength, it was extremely difficult to survive in the 3,000 Worlds.
He worked hard all his life, spending most of his savings just to finally manage to open a shop in Void Star City and start a small business. He did not need to worry about food and shelter for now, but the sudden calamity in Void Star City had chased away most of the cultivators who came to shop or work here. Shopkeeper Tong was unable to sleep due to anxiety these days.
What business could he do when the Star City was desolate? If he had no business, how could he survive in the future?
He wanted to leave, but where could he go? He didn’t have enough funds left to set up another store elsewhere, and he could not bear to let go of the one that he spent most of his life’s savings to purchase.
It could be said that most of the cultivators still left in the Star City were in the same situation as Shopkeeper Tong.
It was hard to say if his intentions to help Yun Xing Hua were real or not, but it was not false that he sincerely hoped that Yun Xing Hua would return. The law and order of the Star City was managed quite well when Yun Xing Hua was in charge, so at least no one came to cause trouble during that time.
After Yun Xing Hua was captured, Shopkeeper Tong’s business plummeted, and scoundrels were attracted to the unguarded Star City from time to time, causing him so much trouble that he had to keep his shop closed.
Therefore, his words seemed very sincere.
After speaking, Shopkeeper Tong cupped his fist again, “Sir Yun, the Star City is in chaos now. This Old Master pleas for Sir Yun to stand up and preside over the situation quickly!”
Behind Shopkeeper Tong, a group of shopkeepers cupped their fists one after another, “Please take charge of the situation, Sir Yun.”
Yun Xing Hua heard the words and replied, “Shopkeepers, please remain calm. Sir Yang, Sect Master of Void Land, has now arrived to rectify the situation in the Star City. This Yun is simply a subordinate of Sir Sect Master and has only been obeying orders.”
Although many shopkeepers had noticed Yang Kai heading this group, they did not know him, so they could only address Yun Xing Hua. Now listening to Yun Xing Hua’s introduction, they all cupped their fists to greet him in unison, “Greetings, Sect Master Yang!”
Yang Kai’s Emperor Realm aura was obvious, but despite that, none of the many Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters present underestimated him. To be able to lead such a large group of Open Heaven Realm Masters, Yang Kai’s identity and status no longer had anything to do with his cultivation. Moreover, when even Yun Xing Hua, a dignified Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, claimed to be a mere subordinate of this young man, how could they dare to regard him as an ordinary Emperor Realm Junior?
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “This King understands all of your concerns, but please rest assured. The reason Void Land has migrated here today is to revitalize this Star City.”
When everyone heard the words, they looked at each other and were overjoyed.
They initially did not understand why Void Land had to migrate its Headquarters, but now they heard that it was all to revive this Star City, so how could they not be happy? They could feel Void Land’s determination from this act alone.
After all, Void Land was a Second Class great force with many Open Heaven Realm Masters. If they focused on resurrecting the Star City, the situation should not be too bad in the future.
Another person asked worriedly, “Sect Master Yang, I heard that many great forces led by Heavenly Sword Union were causing trouble in Void Land. What is the situation now?”
If they were to make a living in Void Star City in the future, it was only reasonable that they paid close attention to the relationships Void Land had, so as not to be affected by their disputes.
Yun Xing Hua sneered, “That group of pitiful weaklings? What could have they done? The Union Master of Heavenly Sword Union, Kong Feng, was beheaded by Sect Master Yang, and the Hundred Sect Alliance was wiped out!”
Exclaims and gasps resounded loudly as everyone was stunned.
Although the Star City did receive similar rumours that the Hundred Sect Alliance was eliminated, and even Kong Feng was killed, no one had confirmed them yet. The incident happened not long ago, so the news has not fully spread out; as such, no one knew the full details of what happened.
But since Yun Xing Hua had said so, it must not be wrong.
How powerful was Void Land that even the Hundred Sect Alliance was annihilated, while Kong Feng, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, was executed?
If this was all true, Void Land was definitely a top-tier Second Class great force. Besides the Cave Heavens and Paradises, there probably was not a more powerful existence than Void Land in the 3,000 Worlds.
The strength of Void Land naturally gave these people a sense of security. Shopkeeper Tong and the others were instantly overjoyed, secretly feeling affirmed that their decision to not abandon their businesses was the right one.
Yang Kai’s voice echoed loudly, “The Star City now lies in ruins, and we, Void Land, have the intention to remodel it completely. We of course won’t disappoint. This King is gratified that you chose to stay and weather through this period of difficulty with Void Land. To thank you all, this King has decided that after three days, an auction will be held by Void Land, and all are invited to attend!”
Shopkeeper Tong was puzzled, “Auction? May I ask what Sect Master Yang is planning to auction?”
Yang Kai smiled slightly and replied lightly, “A Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill!”
“Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill?” Some were puzzled. Obviously, they had never heard of this Spirit Pill before, which was not odd seeing how it had essentially been extinct for thousands of years. Unless one was extremely knowledgeable in Spirit Pills, rarely would anyone have heard about it.
However, although the number of people present was not large, there were still some who knew about the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, so audible gasps were heard coming from around the crowd.
Yang Kai did not explain too much, and simply replied, “After three days, if you are free, please join in the fun. There might even be a pleasant surprise for some of you.”
After saying so, he left, leading the group of people to continue to survey the situation in the Star City.
After everyone from Void Land left, the cultivators left behind burst into excited whispers. Since some people knew about the amazing effects of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, the information naturally spread quickly, and for a time, all the cultivators wore faces of disbelief.
Most of these cultivators in the Star City were only in the Emperor Realm and did not have an excellent aptitude. If they wanted to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, they were bound to face huge risks. One careless mistake could cost them their life. However, with the help of a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, their chances for success would improve greatly.
Who would not be moved by such an opportunity? Not to mention the Emperor Realm cultivators, even Shopkeeper Tong and the other Open Heaven merchants were extremely excited. They may have already advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, but who among them did not have a Disciple or descendants?
However, at the thought of the preciousness and rarity of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, these people became a little disheartened. Without millions of Open Heaven Pills, it would only be a dream to get their hands on such a treasure.
In the crowd, Shopkeeper Tong fell silent for a long time before he suddenly smacked his cheeks with both hands and summoned a young man, “He’er, quickly liquidate everything in the store, even if we need to take a bit of a loss. It’s important that we convert everything we have into Open Heaven Pills as soon as possible.”
Tong He asked haltingly after hearing the order, “Grandpa, are you going to participate in the auction of the Spirit Pill? Don’t tell me you’ve gone senile! Didn’t you hear Shopkeeper Chen and the others? They said that this thing is extremely valuable and could cost tens of millions of Open Heaven Pills. How can we collect so many pills?”
“Idiot!” Shopkeeper Tong raised his hand and knuckled the boy’s head, “This Spirit Pill is indeed very valuable, but in an auction it still requires someone to raise its price. The only ones left in this Star City are desperate and destitute people. So, how rich can they be? If we want to bid for that Spirit Pill, we don’t need tens of millions, we just need to be richer than everyone else.”
Tong He’s eyes lit up, “What Grandpa says makes sense. You really are an old fox… gah…” Shopkeeper Tong knuckled his head again before he could finish, so he quickly rephrased, “As expected, old ginger is spicier. Grandpa, I’ll get going right now!”
After saying that, he turned around and ran towards their store, but turned back after just a few steps.
Shopkeeper Tong frowned, “Why are you back?”
“Grandpa, I suddenly realize that this doesn’t feel right. Since the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill is so precious, how could Void Land let it fall into the hands of outsiders? Someone will definitely drive up the price at the auction. This grandson thinks that the Spirit Pill will eventually return to Void Land.”
Shopkeeper Tong looked at his grandson gratifyingly with a smile, “Your worries are not without reason.”
Tong He questioned, “Then are we still going to gather money? We might just end up going for wool and coming back shorn…”
Shopkeeper Tong smiled and replied, “If it were normal times, your Grandpa might not even dare to covet this Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, but things are different now. Now, the popularity of Void Star City is at an all-time low. Since Sect Master Yang wants to reinvigorate this place, he will need something big to begin attracting people back. Auctioning this Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill is his way of gathering fame for Void Star City, so naturally, he has to take the circumstances into consideration. Think about it, if word of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill spreads out from this Star City, the 3,000 Worlds will definitely be shaken, and many will come over to investigate.”
“So what?” Tong He was puzzled.
Shopkeeper Tong continued, “If Sect Master Yang wants to revive the popularity of the Star City, his first act cannot be to rig an auction. This is his public debut, so he cannot show duplicity or underhanded behaviour; otherwise, who would dare come here in the future?”
Tong He contemplated for a while, and agreed that what his Grandpa said was reasonable, but he still felt insecure, “But Grandpa, we’re just running a small business. We can’t afford a single mishap.”
A shrewd light flashed across Shopkeeper Tong’s eyes, and he smiled slightly, “With such a great opportunity sitting in front of you, how can you hope to be successful if you don’t even dare to take a gamble on it? He’er, your aptitude is pretty good, and if you have enough resources, you should be able to refine Fourth-Order materials to achieve the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future. With Grandpa’s ability, there’s no way I can satisfy your cultivation needs. If we do this right though, not to mention Fourth-Order, even Fifth-Order materials won’t be out of your reach!”
The words ‘Fourth-Order’ and ‘Fifth-Order’ slightly accelerated Tong He’s breathing. Clenching his fists, he replied decisively, “Good, grandson will listen to Grandpa.” After saying so, he disappeared without a trace.
Shopkeeper Tong turned to look in the direction of Tong He’s departure, and turned again to look in the direction the numerous Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land were gazing. Stroking his grey beard, his eyes flashed wildly while he considered his current situation. Despite what he said to his grandson, he was actually a little worried, for fear that, as his grandson said, Void Land would arrange for someone to raise the price to eventually win the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill back into its own hands.
But as he said, this was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If they succeeded, then the grandfather-grandson pair would soar in the future, and they would no longer have to struggle at the bottom of the world. If one did not grasp the opportunities right in front of them, one could only remain poor.
A large number of Open Heaven Realm Masters followed behind Yang Kai as he surveyed the Star City, allowing his identity to quickly spread, drawing the attention of all remaining cultivators in the Star City. People gathered together and whispered from time to time, pointing in his direction. At this point, many youths cast their eyes at him, admiration rising in their hearts. This was what a real man should be like!
They were Emperor Realm cultivators too, but while they were toiling away for a few trivial Open Heaven Pills, Yang Kai was already sitting high above, commanding many Open Heaven Realm Masters. The difference was simply overwhelming…
“Sect Master, are you really going to auction that Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill just to boost momentum?” Lu Xue, who was next to Yang Kai, asked softly.
Yang Kai nodded, “Right now, we can only rely on the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, so naturally we will need to raise some popularity.”
He mentioned this plan before, so no one was surprised, but there were advantages as well as disadvantages to taking out the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills. The advantages included a large and rapid boost to the popularity of the Star City, while the biggest disadvantage was provoking greed from other great forces.
However, whenever potential gains appeared, risks would as well. If Shopkeeper Tong had the courage to gamble his life’s savings, how could Yang Kai not have the same courage?
Moreover, Void Land had now even migrated its Headquarters, and with the protection of two mature Divine Spirits, it more or less had some ability to defend itself.
“But with just three days, there will be no time to publicize the event. I’m afraid that only the cultivators who are still in this Star City will participate in the auction when the time comes.” Lu Xue was worried, “We won’t be able to fetch a high price.”
To auction an extinct treasure such as the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, it was necessary to start an advertising campaign a long time in advance to give the major forces time to gather funds, so as to obtain the maximum profit. Even the pill auction back in Thousand Birds Star City was advertised a year or two in advance, and with the addition of the opening of Blood Monster Cave Heaven, many Masters gathered in Thousand Birds the Star City, to profit from that.
It was really hasty for Yang Kai to announce an auction just three days before it took place.
Yang Kai, however, just smiled, “The price doesn’t matter. A Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill may be quite precious to others, but to Void Land, it’s nothing rare.”
Yang Kai had given each of the more than 300 cultivators from Abundance City a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill to assist their advancement to the Open Heaven Realm, including those who would only break through to the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm. What did it matter if one was auctioned now?
It was not necessarily a bad thing to lose profit sometimes.
It could be imagined that after this auction was over, Void Land would no longer need to deliberately promote itself because the news of this auction would spread like wildfire throughout every Great Territory in the Outer Universe. By then, there was no need to worry about the popularity of Void Star City.
Lu Xue pondered about it for a while and it seemed to make sense so she did not say anything more.
The Star City was not too large, so the inspection was soon completed. The representatives of the seven Third Class great forces, including Golden Light Dock and Soaring Crane Sect, had also heard of Yang Kai’s arrival and quickly came to greet him. Yang Kai naturally showed them a welcoming attitude and appropriate respect, allowing them to let out a sigh of relief.
As Subordinate Sects of Void Land, and being located in the same Great Territory, they lived and died at Void Land’s whim. Logically speaking, when Void Land encountered a crisis, they should have mobilized to help, but they did nothing at the time.
This was also Human nature. The strongest cultivators in these seven great forces were just Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. Given the situation at the time, trying to intervene would be akin to trying to break a stone with an egg. If they were unlucky, their entire Sect could be annihilated. The Hundred Sect Alliance was hundreds of times more powerful than them, so how could they possibly stick their necks out?
Yang Kai knew their difficulties and naturally would not hold them accountable.
Still, they were afraid that Void Land would settle accounts after the incident was resolved, so after receiving the order from Yang Kai, they all contributed large pieces of spirit land from their Headquarters and busied themselves with the expansion of the scale of the Star City.
Yang Kai surveyed the work and soon calculated that the Star City’s landmass had now expanded to more than five times its original size! Although it was still not as good as Thousand Birds Star City, it was not far off. With such a vast area, the scarce population in the Star City became even more apparent; however, this was not a big deal. As long as Yang Kai’s plans for the Star City came to fruition, it would not be long before every inch of Void Star City would become priceless!
Yang Kai had stayed in Thousand Birds Star City for a while, so he had a deep understanding that even in such a large Star City, the annual rent for a store located in a good location was extremely high.
So, the current vacancy of Void Star City was not to be underestimated, because every bit of land here would soon bring enormous benefits to Void Land.
This place would surely become a treasure trove that continued to churn out Open Heaven Pills for Void Land, providing long-term funding for its development.
“Elder Chen!” Yang Kai called out.
Fatty Chen immediately stepped forward and replied respectfully, “Subordinate is here, what are your orders, Sir?”
Yang Kai pointed ahead and gave his command, “Take some people with you to record all the shopkeepers who own stores in the Star City. Contact them, and tell them that Void Star City will undergo a complete reconstruction, so all the original buildings will be levelled. Reassure them that Void Land will compensate them with a new store in the same location as their previous one and they will not suffer any financial losses.”
“Yes!” Chen Tian Fatty responded quickly and brought some people with him to carry out this task. In order for Void Star City to develop properly, it needed better planning. Even if there was no compensation, these shopkeepers wouldn’t dare to complain, not to mention that they would be compensated with a new store in the original site.
“Yun Xing Hua!” Yang Kai called out again.
Yun Xing Hua straightened his back, took two steps forward, and cupped his fist, “Subordinate is here!”
Yang Kai tapped his foot, “Build a grand auction house in this spot. You will be solely responsible for this matter!” This was the very centre of the entire Star City, the best location in the land. As this auction house would be directly affiliated with Void Land, it naturally had to occupy this spot.
Yun Xing Hua was taken aback, but he accepted the order sonorously, “Rest assured, Sir. This Subordinate will not fail!” After a pause, he added, “Sir, what are the requirements for this auction house?”
Yang Kai thought for a while before speaking, “It needs to be large enough to accommodate 10,000 comfortably! En, you can go back to the Headquarters to ask Yue He for her input.”
Yun Xing Hua had only broken through to the Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm recently. As his strength was somewhat low, his knowledge and experience were obviously not comparable to Yue He’s. It would be much better if Yue He could give him some advice.
Yun Xing Hua immediately accepted the order and led a group of his subordinates straight to Void Land. Yue He was currently stuck with Bi Xi playing chess, unable to extricate herself, so she was in need of ‘rescue’.
“Elder Mo!” Yang Kai called again.
Mo Mei responded, “Subordinate is here.”
Yang Kai turned his head and looked at her with a smile, “The blueprint of the Star City’s construction is your duty now. I want this completed in the shortest possible time. Once plans are finalized, begin construction immediately.”
Mo Mei laughed lightly, “This is a big project!”
Yang Kai assured her, “All 600,000 disciples in Void Land are at your disposal. If you need anyone’s help, you may transfer them as you wish. If you need materials, consult with Second Manager.”
Mo Mei saluted elegantly, “I have received the order, and will definitely live up to the Sect Master’s expectations!”
As soon as everything was given their assignments, Yang Kai headed back to Void Land, allowing the resurrection of the Star City to begin.
The representatives of the seven Subordinate Sects led the disciples of their respective forces to expand the scale of the Star City with great enthusiasm, so it would not be long before the project was completed. At the same time, Chen Tian Fei led a group of people to convene the remaining shopkeepers still in the Star City and explained to them the plans made by Void Land. All the shopkeepers agreed without a single refusal.
For one, who had the courage to object? Void Land’s strength was overwhelming, and Chen Tian Fei, who was right in front of them, had a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation. For another, this was a good deal for them. They were getting new shops without needing to pay for them, all they had to do was to sit back and wait. Naturally, there was no need to object. For those reasons, Chen Tian Fei’s duties were progressing very smoothly.
Yun Xing Hua and his subordinates found Yue He, and together they began brainstorming various matters regarding the auction house, which was going to be built in the very centre of the Star City. Yue He had been to many places over the years, and participated in numerous auctions, so she had no trouble providing some ideas and references.
Mo Mei, after convening with Bian Yu Qing, brought 30,000 disciples from Void Land to carry out large-scale construction work across the Star City.
Neat rows of houses were quickly assembled, and streets wide enough to accommodate 20 people walking side by side were paved. Golden Light Dock and the other Subordinate Sects also took the initiative to contribute to the construction process once they were done expanding the Spirit Province. Although the number of people was not large, it was the intention that mattered…
The entire Star City was filled with activity.
Shopkeeper Tong and the others had been living without a fixed place for the past two days as there really was nowhere for them to stay after their shops were levelled. As such, these shopkeepers gathered either in groups of three or five to spectate the rapidly rising buildings in the Star City, excitement filling their hearts.
At this moment, they no longer had any doubt about their decision to remain. They initially had only stayed because they had nowhere else to go, but no one knew that it would turn out to be such a huge blessing in disguise.
Void Star City was not thriving yet because it was not built up, and its reputation has yet to be established; however, when the time came, this place would definitely prosper.
“Shopkeeper Tong!” A voice reached Shopkeeper Tong, who turned his head to look. He smiled slightly and cupped his fist in return when he recognized it was an acquaintance, “Shopkeeper Jin!”
Shopkeeper Jin was also an elderly man. Both he and Shopkeeper Tong were Second-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, and were both unfortunate cultivators. They had always been at the bottom of the 3,000 Worlds, struggling and striving for every small profit, exerting themselves for a mere dozen Open Heaven Pills.
But now, both of them looked radiant, beaming and buoyant in spirits. If Shopkeeper Tong could see the bright future of Void Star City, how could Shopkeeper Jin not see it too? Now, all they needed to do was wait for the popularity of Void Star City to rise before getting back to work.
“What is it, Shopkeeper Jin?” Shopkeeper Tong asked while wondering, [This old fox always only appears when there is something that could benefit him.]
Both of them had been doing business in the Star City and were fond of each other’s character after having dealt with each other on numerous occasions.
Shopkeeper Jin chuckled, “This Jin is here to congratulate Shopkeeper Tong.”
Shopkeeper Tong snickered in response, “What is there to congratulate?”
Shopkeeper Jin replied, “Void Land’s doing something big and the Star City is going to be promising in the future. As part of the group who stayed behind, we will naturally be the first to reap the benefits. Isn’t this something worth congratulating?”
“Congratulations to you too then. Didn’t Shopkeeper Jin stay behind as well?”
Shopkeeper Jin sighed, “En, I was forced to stay, but I didn’t expect it to be a blessing in disguise. When Shopkeeper Sun and the others find out, they will probably rot in regret.”
The mentioned Shopkeeper Sun was one of the shopkeepers who escaped from the Star City as soon as the situation in Void Land deteriorated. It was truly expected that such a drastic change in circumstances would happen in Void Territory.
“What’s meant to be will be, it can’t be forced if it’s not.” Shopkeeper Tong chuckled.
Shopkeeper Jin pointed to the bustling construction activity in the Star City in front of them, “Shopkeeper Tong, this Jin probed Senior Chen earlier. The remaining shopkeepers like you and I can get a new shop lot at our original site. On top of that, we’re not required to pay rent. In other words, the shops will be yours and mine in the future, and no one can take them away.”
Shopkeeper Tong was overjoyed when he heard this, “Is this really true?”
Shopkeeper Jin nodded, “It’s absolutely true. This is what Sir Chen Tian Fei said.”
“That’s really great,” Shopkeeper Tong clenched his fists tightly. Although he managed to open a shop here before, he was only renting the space and didn’t own it. Now that Void Land had rewarded them all with new stores, stores that belonged to them, it was indeed great news. Whether they would operate the shops themselves or simply rent out the space, it was guaranteed to make a profit.
After pondering for a while, Shopkeeper Tong asked, “What about Shopkeeper Sun and the others?”
Shopkeeper Jin sneered, “Shopkeeper Sun and the others left the moment the Star City fell into troubled times. Do you think they’ll have a share of the shops even if they come back?”
Shopkeeper Tong nodded when he heard the words, “Void True Monarch is indeed fair with rewards and punishments.”
Regardless of whether they stayed back intentionally or were simply forced to, they stayed in the Star City and maintained its remaining population, that was why Void Land was willing to give them a new store. As for those who abandoned them, why would Void Land care about their interests?
Shopkeeper Jin added, “Now, Void Star City has expanded to more than five times its original size, with plentiful shops and grand architecture, as well as immaculate organization. It can be imagined that the Star City will definitely be very popular in the future, and every inch of this place will definitely be worth a fortune!”
“Shopkeeper Jin is right,” Shopkeeper Tong nodded in agreement.
Shopkeeper Jin turned his head to look at him, “Shopkeeper Tong, you and I are both people without any backing. Back then, all I could do was some small business. It’s rare to have an opportunity like this, so doesn’t Shopkeeper Tong want to do something big?”
Shopkeeper Tong frowned slightly, “Both of us have no connections nor any backing, how do we do something big?”
Shopkeeper Jin balled up his fist, “As long as we have capital, we can naturally do something big! Just with the funds you and I have on hand, even if we occupy a store, it’s hard to be too ambitious. We’ll probably just continue dealing in small trades.”
Shopkeeper Tong frowned and sighed, “What Brother Jin said is exactly what this old man has been worried about these days. Whatever plan it is, capital is still the problem!”
Shopkeeper Jin’s eyes blazed, “It’s easy to get the capital, it just depends if Brother Tong is willing to take a gamble with me.”
Shopkeeper Tong’s eyes lit up, “Does Brother Jin mean…”
“Tomorrow will be the first auction of Void Star City. Void True Monarch said it himself that they will be auctioning a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill. This is our chance!” After Shopkeeper Jin finished speaking, he gave Shopkeeper Tong a meaningful look, “Brother Tong, I know you’ve been selling your entire inventory over the past two days at any cost. Don’t tell me that you have no plans for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill?”
“Hmm…” Shopkeeper Tong silently cursed the cunning old fox. He was able to catch a clue as soon as a move was made. It was pointless to deny it now, so Shopkeeper Tong simply nodded and admitted, “Yes, this Tong does have some plans for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, but this pill is precious, and this Tong is low on funds, so I’m just doing my best and leaving the rest to destiny.”
Shopkeeper Jin smiled slightly, “How about we work together?”
Shopkeeper Tong was moved when he heard the words, “How shall we cooperate?”
“Neither of us has a lot of funds, at least not enough to compete with the few big Shopkeepers still remaining in the Star City. If they participate in the auction, you and I may not be able to succeed. Since that’s the case, why don’t we pool all of our funds together and give it our all? It would be excellent if we succeeded, and we’ll just accept fate if we don’t! We’ll re-sell the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill at the right time when the price is right, then split the profit equally between the two of us.”
Shopkeeper Tong frowned deeply, struggling with his thoughts.
Shopkeeper Jin stood by and waited quietly without interrupting. He knew that Shopkeeper Tong would not reject his proposal; after all, it was a decision that was beneficial to both parties, unless Shopkeeper Tong had enough money to triumph over other competitors without his aid.
Sure enough, after a while, Shopkeeper Tong looked up decisively, “Good, let’s do it together!”
After saying that, he raised his palm forward, and Shopkeeper Jin raised his own palm to meet his. After three shakes, the two old foxes grinned knowingly.
…
The auction was held as scheduled without any publicity or marketing campaign, the only participants being the few cultivators who were still stranded in the Star City. There were not many people, a few thousand at most, of which some forty to fifty were Low-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters, with only a handful being Third-Order and the rest all weaker.
The Void Auction House was still under construction, and Yang Kai’s requirements were not low. Yun Xing Hua was naturally not able to finish the construction within three days.
Therefore, the auction was held in the original auction house of the Star City.
Although Void Star City did have its own auction house, that didn’t mean other great forces didn’t have one. No one knew which great force owned this particular auction house, but it was already empty now, so Void Land did not need the consent of others to requisition it.
Although the number of people who attended the auction was small, it was extremely lively.
Void True Monarch had previously said that the auction item was a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, but no one had seen such a rare Spirit Pill before, so they all worried whether Void Land really had such a precious treasure.
And now was time to verify their doubts. Whether what Void True Monarch said was true or false would be revealed today.
Shopkeeper Jin and Shopkeeper Tong sat together, their heads leaning in together from time to time, while looking around silently observing potential opponents.
It did not take long before the auction stage lit up, the lights converging on a beautiful silhouette that was slowly making its way onto the platform.
The commotion in the audience suddenly died down as everyone turned their eyes to the stage, to see that the person who stepped on the platform was a slender woman with a beautiful face, looking no more than 30 years old, dressed in a light blue dress.
Many in the audience stiffened at the sight of this woman, not because of her beauty, but because of her shocking identity. Over the past few days, they had also come to be more familiar with the Masters of Void Land, so this woman was readily recognized as soon as she appeared.
She was an Elder of Void Land named Lu Xue, with a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation!
Those who participated in the auction were at best Third-Order Masters. In normal times, how would they dare stare at a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master so recklessly? However, now they were given a chance to look at one all they wished.
Lu Xue felt a little lightheaded, and her chest suddenly became tight.
She was forced to take up this task. Although she was a former Manager of Sword Pavilion, she had never hosted an auction before. Among all the Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land, the cultivators of Abundance City had never participated in an auction ever, and had no clue on the auctioning procedure at all. Chen Tian Fei, Yun Xing Hua, and the others who were good at administrative and public works were all swamped with their own tasks, so Lu Xue was the only suitable candidate to be the auctioneer. Fortunately, although she had never hosted an auction before, she had participated in many. Besides, there was no need to raise enthusiasm or rile up the crowd for this auction, so it was not a difficult task.
She took a deep breath and thought about how she could crush everyone in front of her with a snort, allowing her nerves to quickly calm down.
Lu Xue had a somewhat aloof personality, so she did not say much and just immediately started the auction.
Since it was an auction, they could not possibly be auctioning off just a single Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill. Void Land had also prepared some other items suitable for the cultivators in the audience. Void Land had harvested plenty of loot when the Hundred Sect Alliance was wiped out, so it was just right to take some small things out to meet some of the auctioning demands.
This was a unique auction, because all the items, regardless of their value, had a reserve price of 1 Open Heaven Pill. Many cultivators were ecstatic when they found this out and did not hesitate to increase the price.
However, the financial resources of the people here were limited, and no matter how much they increased the price, no item exceeded 1,000 Open Heaven Pills so far, with most selling for around 100 or so.
No matter how one looked at it, this auction was a big loss for Void Land, because the market value of every auctioned item was far more than it was auctioned off for.
However, everyone knew that Void Land was willing to take a temporary loss to reap a long-term gain. The objective today was to raise the Star City’s popularity, therefore, it was understandable to take a small financial loss.
Fortunately, since all the items were essentially a steal, even if Lu Xue did not say much, the crowd was incredibly fired up and the bidding audience was not mellow at all. For these people, no matter what they bid for, they were guaranteed to make a profit, all they needed to do was wait a little while before re-selling these items.
Auction items were quickly displayed and sold under the hammer. An hour later, Lu Xue announced, “The next item is our finale for today’s auction, I hope you won’t be disappointed!”
Silence fell as everyone in the auction house immediately straightened their backs. It was so silent that needles could be heard falling on the ground.
As they all knew, the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was coming!
Shopkeeper Tong and Shopkeeper Jin met each other’s eyes, and sat up involuntarily, staring at the platform unblinkingly. On the auction stage, a woman who appeared to be a maid walked up with a tray in her hand and a smile on her face, and stopped beside Lu Xue. The tray was covered with a red cloth, obscuring what lay beneath from the prying eyes below.
Lu Xue raised her hand to remove the red cloth, revealing to everyone a jade bottle.
Lu Xue’s crisp voice resounded throughout the entire auction house, “A Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill. It can help one to comprehend the essence of splitting Heaven and Earth apart when a cultivator is attempting to break through to the Open Heaven Realm, thereby greatly improving the chances of one completing the process successfully. With the complement of this Spirit Pill, as long as one’s aptitude is not terrible, they can definitely advance to the Open Heaven Realm. The reserve price is 1 Open Heaven Pill, and there is no limit on the increase in price. Please!”
After saying that, Lu Xue stood on the auction platform and said no more.
Contrary to the previous scene where all kinds of items were auctioned and everyone responded heatedly, vying to increase the price, the appearance of this final item drew no bids. Everyone just stared at Lu Xue blankly, unable to believe their own ears.
Shopkeeper Tong and Shopkeeper Jin too, looked at each other, almost thinking that they had heard it wrong.
[The starting bid of a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill is 1 Open Heaven Pill?]
Although all the previous items started from 1 Open Heaven Pill with no exception, this was the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill that had long since vanished from the 3,000 Worlds. Was its reserve price really just 1 Open Heaven Pill?
The information was so shocking that no one could open their mouth to start bidding, lest they desecrate the precious Spirit Pill with their lowly bids.
The auction house fell into a quaint silence for a while before the sound of rapid breathing began filling the air.
Lu Xue, who was standing on the stage, was a little stunned, thinking that she might have not explained clearly. How had the atmosphere, which was so heated earlier, suddenly turned so quiet?
Suddenly, a voice asked weakly, “Elder Lu, may I ask if the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill of your noble Sect really has an opening price of 1 Open Heaven Pill?”
Lu Xue said lightly, “Yes!”
The man hesitated, then asked again, “But the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill is such an extremely precious thing, how could it only start from 1 Open Heaven Pill…? Elder Lu, please don’t kid with us. We have low cultivation, and our knowledge is very limited, so none of us have ever seen such a Spirit Pill before.”
If one had seen it before, there was essentially no way to distinguish its authenticity, and just how many were there in the 3,000 Worlds who had actually seen a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill before?
Although this man did not finish what he wanted to say, many quick-witted cultivators present understood what he meant. This guy was speculating if Void Land had fabricated a counterfeit Spirit Pill to pass it off as a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill. However, he did not dare to say so outright and was just beating around the bush.
Shopkeeper Tong sneered in his heart when he heard this. The person who said this really was stupid. The reason Void Land was willing to take such a massive loss in this auction was to create publicity for their Star City. Were not all of the previous auction items sold at a loss too? Although it was a bit bizarre that the starting price of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was only 1 Open Heaven Pill, Void Land had the capacity and daring to do so.
On top of that, this was the first time Void Land held an auction. If they really did auction a counterfeit item, their reputation would be forever ruined. Who would come to support them in the future if they did such a despicable deed?
Therefore, regardless of the oddity of the situation, the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill should not be fake.
On the auction stage, Lu Xue looked in the direction of the man and replied, “This Queen is here to preside over the auction under Sect Master’s direct order. This Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was bestowed to me by the Sect Master, who refined it personally. Many Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land have also benefited from such Spirit Pills. If anyone thinks this pill is inappropriate in any way, they don’t have to participate in the auction. Please begin bidding!”
Shopkeeper Jin cleared his throat, and shouted, “This Old Master offers 1,000 Open Heaven Pills!”
Not to mention 1,000 Open Heaven Pills, this Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was possibly worth 10 million Open Heaven Pills. Shopkeeper Jin naturally did not expect to get the Spirit Pill with this bid, but he took the initiative to start the process. For one, he wanted to test the waters; for another, it was to show favor to Void Land. It was up to Void Land, however, if they saw through his intentions.
In the previous auctions, the highest price an item was sold for was just over 1,000 Open Heaven Pills. The price Shopkeeper Jin offered was just a fraction of the true value of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, but it was still reasonable in this strange situation.
Just as he finished speaking though, voices exploded from all directions in the auction house, filled with cultivators shouting their bids for the item.
In just three breaths, the price had already exceeded 10,000 Open Heaven Pills and was continuing to rise at an extremely rapid rate.
Shopkeeper Jin and Shopkeeper Tong turned their heads from time to time to look in the direction of the other bidders, observing the reactions and expressions of these potential opponents, inferring their limits.
The two old foxes were waiting for everyone to exhaust themselves before jumping out to make the final call!
The atmosphere of the auction house suddenly became scorching hot. People were shouting their prices over each other because their previous bids were quickly outdone.
Twenty breaths later, the price of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill had exceeded 100,000 Open Heaven Pills!
At this point, there were only three people left in the competition. These three people were undoubtedly shopkeepers in the Star City. When it reached 120,000, there were only two people left.
However, these two were obviously approaching their limits. Each increase in price was not high, and they were gnashing their teeth each time they offered a new bid, as if they had a deep hatred for the other party.
Shopkeeper Tong and Shopkeeper Jin looked at each other and nodded lightly.
They had been holding back for the right timing to make a move, and it had finally arrived. The two had been observing from the sidelines, so they had a very detailed grasp and judgment of the situation. This was a good opportunity to make a move.
“130,000!” Shopkeeper Jin called out decisively. This time, he added 10,000 Open Heaven Pills all at once, which for the people present was not a small number.
In the crowd, a cultivator turned his head angrily at him with his eyes red, “Shopkeeper Jin, you…”
Shopkeeper Jin cupped his fist towards him with a smile, “Shopkeeper Zhou, please excuse me!”
Shopkeeper Zhou ground his teeth for a while before shouting decisively, “133,000!”
“140,000!” Shopkeeper Jin remained calm and relaxed.
Shopkeeper Zhou’s initially straight back slumped and he released a deep sigh as he shook his head.
On the auction stage, Lu Xue waited for a moment, but seeing that no one raised the price, after three breaths, the hammer finalized the deal!
Shopkeeper Jin’s and Shopkeeper Tong’s tightly clenched fists finally loosened as they both grinned wildly.
[We did it! We really did it!]
At this moment, Shopkeeper Tong felt extremely fortunate that he chose to partner with Shopkeeper Jin; otherwise, he would not have been able to win the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill with his limited financial resources. At the very least, Shopkeeper Zhou was much wealthier than he was.
A Spirit Pill that was worth tens of millions of Open Heaven Pills was now actually won by two old foxes for a mere 140,000 Open Heaven Pills. Such a lucrative trade was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The reason was that the cultivators remaining in the Star City were all from humble backgrounds and had limited financial resources. The people who really had the means and resources had already escaped; otherwise, they would not have the chance to grab such a great deal!
Now, although both of them have sold most of their belongings for cheap and could not do any business in the near future, as long as they waited for the right opportunity, they could resell this Spirit Pill for millions!
Lu Xue’s voice once again rang out, “Many thanks to all of you for your support this time. Though this auction has ended for today, in three months’ time, Void Land will be holding another auction, where another Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill will be auctioned. It will be like this every three months thereafter!”
After saying that, Lu Xue turned around and walked down.
In the auction house, many cultivators were stunned for a while, followed by a loud commotion.
There would be another auction in Void Star City in three months, and there would also be another Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill sold every three months from now on!
In other words, every three months, Void Land would be auctioning off a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill!
Simply astonishing! Many had made a large profit today, but they still could not help feeling moved at the news of another auction in three months.
There were not many opportunities like this for them to take advantage of a great force. If one missed it this time, one still may have another chance, but if one did not grasp the chance, it would be impossible when Void Star City truly flourished.
Shopkeeper Jin and Shopkeeper Tong stood there, the smiles on their faces suddenly stiffened.
After a while, Shopkeeper Tong took in a deep breath, “Just how many Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills does Void Land have?”
If they were willing to take one out for auction every three months, it meant that they had enough to spare. But wasn’t this Spirit Pill said to already be extinct? It was precisely because of this that the value was high. If it was available everywhere, it would not be worth much.
Shopkeeper Jin’s eyes flashed and speculated, “Elder Lu just said that this Spirit Pill was refined by Void True Monarch himself. It seems that Void Land does have a lot in stock!”
“Then our Spirit Pill…” Shopkeeper Tong’s initial joy turned into worry.
Shopkeeper Jin chuckled, “What are you worried about? As long as this kind of Spirit Pill is not released in massive quantities, its value will never decrease. Void Land is clearly planning to use these Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills to draw in people to their Star City, so they will naturally only release a limited supply. In other words, we made a lot of money this time!”
Shopkeeper Tong thought for a while after hearing the words, then cracked into a smile, “You’re right, Void Land will never let the value of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill fall unless they want to sabotage themselves.”
“Let’s go!” Shopkeeper Jin stood up, “Let’s collect our Spirit Pill, I’ve never seen such a precious thing before in my life after all.”
As they walked out of the auction house, both Shopkeeper Tong and Shopkeeper Jin trembled, unable to contain their excitement.
A jade bottle was held in Shopkeeper Jin’s hand, containing the rare Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill!
Recalling what Elder Lu just said, Shopkeeper Jin praised admirably, “Void Land really is efficient and upright!”
“En.” Shopkeeper Tong stroked his beard and nodded, “There’s no more need for you and I to worry, we just need to wait for the right opportunity.”
When the two went to Elder Lu to retrieve the Spirit Pill, she assured them that before the two resold the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, their safety and that of their families would be guaranteed by Void Land. In addition, if they found a buyer in the future, if necessary, they could request Void Land to act as an intermediary to ensure impartiality and that the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was sold at a reasonable price.
The two shopkeepers were ecstatic to hear the news!
Earlier, they were a little worried that after obtaining the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, it would be hard to fend off greedy Masters who intended to bully or outright rob them with their meager abilities. Now, with Elder Lu’s assurance, what else did they need to worry about? Who in Void Star City would dare to cross Void Land?
Void Land obviously took their concerns into account, so they took the initiative, and Void Land also knew that even if they won the Spirit Pill, they would not use it themselves. They surely would be selling off such a precious item for a good price.
Logically speaking, after the two won the Spirit Pill, Void Land bore no responsibilities to them, but Void Land’s initiative to give them such a guarantee truly bought their trust and respect.
Shopkeeper Jin handed the jade bottle in his hand to Shopkeeper Tong and said, “Brother Tong, according to the agreement, you will be in charge of guarding it for the first month.”
Shopkeeper Tong smiled when he heard the words, “There’s no need, Brother Jin can keep the Spirit Pill by his side.”
If there was no guarantee from Void Land, Shopkeeper Tong would have to be a little wary of whether Shopkeeper Jin would pocket all the profits himself, but now he no longer needed to worry about this at all, unless Shopkeeper Jin was willing to take the risk of offending Void Land.
Safeguarding the Spirit Pill also meant that he had to bear the risk of losing it, so why would Shopkeeper Tong take up such an arduous but fruitless task? That was the reason for his forthrightness.
They were both cunning old foxes, so how could Shopkeeper Jin not know what Shopkeeper Tong was thinking? Still, he just laughed and nodded, “Brother Tong, you really are too lazy. Fine, I’ll keep the Spirit Pill. It’ll probably be sold off after a few months, and this Old Master is not going anywhere during this time.”
Shopkeeper Tong smiled and cupped his fists, “Many thanks for your hard work, Brother Jin!”
After the first auction of Void Star City, many cultivators left one after another in a hurry, especially the shopkeepers. It was unknown where they went.
The already deserted Star City was left with even fewer occupants now, but the 30,000 Void Land disciples continued the reconstruction projects without pause.
Construction done by cultivators was indeed different from mortals. There were obvious changes in the Star City every day, and in less than a month, the rebuilding of the entire Star City was completed.
Even the huge auction house ordered by Yang Kai was completed through the joint efforts of Yun Xing Hua and Yue He. According to Yang Kai’s request, the size of this auction house should be no less than that of Red Clouds Auction House back in Thousand Birds Star City, which meant it could comfortably accommodate 10,000 people. The huge auction house located in the very center of the Star City would soon become one of its most important landmarks.
Yang Kai personally inscribed ‘Void Auction House’ onto a giant plaque that hung proudly above the main entrance of the auction house.
Nanmen Da Jun had been working non-stop recently. The newly expanded and reconstructed Star City naturally needed a new Grand Array. That said, his accomplishments in the Dao of Arrays could not match that of Grandmaster Wu Liang’s, and Void Land was no longer as resource-rich as before, so it was impossible to create another Nine Heavenly Layers Grand Array.
However, Nanmen Da Jun had been shadowing Grandmaster Wu Liang for a few months, so with his exceptional talent in Dao of Spirit Arrays, it was not difficult to arrange some decent Arrays in the Star City.
Of course, limited by his own cultivation and many other factors, the strength of the Spirit Arrays Nanmen Da Jun arranged was not high, and they would be unable to resist powerful attacks.
But Void Land was just 100 kilometres away from the Star City, which to Open Heaven Realm Masters was essentially within arm’s reach. Who would dare to attack the Star City under Void Land’s watch? If so, the 300 Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land would not mind teaching the intruders a harsh lesson again.
The Star City was now completed, and compared with the original, its scale was several times bigger. Also, because of the strict planning, the buildings in the Star City were also well-organized, no longer chaotic like before.
The Star City had been built, but a Governor had yet to be chosen.
Yang Kai imitated the management system of the Thousand Birds Star City of Great Battle Heaven, establishing a Governor’s Mansion in the Star City, and charging Mo Mei, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, to serve as the first Governor of the Star City.
There was no other option really. In the entire Void Land, Yue He and Mo Mei were the strongest. Yue He did not want to take up the responsibility and just wanted to stay by Yang Kai, so Mo Mei had no choice but to take up this task.
Although she was born in Blood Monster Cave Heaven, she had been City Lord of Abundance City for many years, giving her plenty of experience in management. She only needed some time to get familiar with the new environment and things would proceed smoothly.
Under the jurisdiction of the Governor’s Mansion, the Star City was divided into four major districts – north, south, east, and west; each district having its own supervisor in charge. The East City District was overseen by Pang Duo, West City District by Gong Yang Xi, South City District by Fan Wu Xin, and North City District by Chen Tian Fei. These four reported directly to Mo Mei. With the four of them assisting her, managing the Star City would not be a problem for her.
This arrangement disappointed Yun Xing Hua a little; after all, he had been in charge of the Star City before this. As an official from Void Land, he had a high position and authority, and countless people attempted to curry favour with him every day.
However, he was not even a Commander in this new Star City.
He did not dare to complain though; after all, the Star City was lost right under his nose. Furthermore, he was only a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He understood that it was impossible to entrust him with such an important task.
Fortunately, Yang Kai did not disregard his hard work and handed over management of Void Auction House to him.
The Void Auction House was located in the very centre of the Star City, not belonging to any of the four districts. It was directly under the control of the Governor’s Mansion, and everyone understood that auctions would play a pivotal role in the future of the Star City, so being its Head Manager was not worse than being in charge of a district.
Yun Xing Hua was naturally grateful for this arrangement.
Yang Kai originally wanted Lu Xue, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, to serve as a Commander, but she refused. Her personality was not suitable for works that involved public relations, and she did not like communicating with strangers, so she decided to remain in Void Land as the Hall Master of the Martial Hall, while also serving as a member of the Elder Council.
Yang Kai took into account that the cultivators in Void Land would need a Master to guide and pass down their experiences, so Lu Xue deciding to assume command of the Martial Hall was also a boon.
With this arrangement, everyone in the Star City was assigned their own duties, and the general framework of the Star City was established. In the entire Star City, apart from Void Auction House, which was directly owned by Void Land, there were more than eight blocks of shops reserved for Void Land, while the other shops would be leased out.
Yang Kai had been relatively free recently, so after heating up his furnace and refining some Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills, he went into retreat.
His current situation was a little awkward. He could not leave because he was under close watch by a few Cave Heavens and Paradises, so he could only stay hidden in Void Land, waiting for a Seventh-Order Yin Element treasure to arrive at his doorstep.
He had a lot of free time now. His Wives were all cultivating in retreat so he could not bother them, which meant he could only cultivate by himself. Whenever he was bored, he would play chess with Bi Xi to kill some time.
At the Void Dock, a group of Void Land disciples had nothing to do but did not dare to slack off and decided to patrol in every direction in groups of three to five.
There was always at least one Void Dock in each Star City, which served as the gateway in and out of the Star City. It made managing the entries a lot more convenient; otherwise, anyone could enter the Star City from any location. Unrestricted and unregulated access could lead to unnecessary chaos and even unrest, allowing those with ill intentions to easily slip in and stir up trouble.
There was a Void Dock in Thousand Birds Star City. When the Proprietress first brought Yang Kai there, she was stopped by a Master on duty from Great Battle Heaven and had to undergo certain entry procedures.
Void Star City aimed to become a top-tier Star City, so it was naturally essential to have a functioning Void Dock. However, Void Star City only had a single Void Dock.
Of course, the current Grand Array set up by Nanmen Da Jun was not very strong, but no one would break the Grand Array unless they wanted to offend Void Land.
The one overseeing the Void Dock was Jin Yuan Lang!
The Void Dock was the face of the Star City, so the one guarding it could not have low cultivation; otherwise, the Star City would inevitably be underestimated. Jin Yuan Lang, who was in the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, was the perfect choice.
This was also a small means by Void Land to display their authority. It was believed that anyone who came here would not dare to look down on Void Land after knowing Jin Yuan Lang, a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, was guarding the entrance.
No matter how big Thousand Birds Star City was, the one guarding its Void Dock was also a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
It had been almost two months since Void Land migrated here, and during this time, the Void Dock remained quite idle.
Since no one came to the Star City, naturally no one passed through the Void Dock.
On this day, however, a disciple was observing the void when he suddenly rubbed his eyes and stared carefully at a certain spot. A shudder ran through him as he shouted, “Someone is approaching!”
As soon as the shout resounded, the surrounding cultivators moved simultaneously towards the Void Dock.
Some disciples immediately went to report to Jin Yuan Lang, who was cultivating.
By the time Jin Yuan Lang had walked out of the nearby palace and come to the dock, a ship could be clearly seen approaching from the void.
Jin Yuan Lang narrowed his eyes slightly. He had been living in Blood Monster Cave Heaven all this time, so he was not very familiar with the 3,000 Worlds. However, after experiencing the battle that destroyed the Hundred Sect Alliance, he had gained a little bit of insight.
He could tell at a glance that the ship belonged to a Second Class great force!
The size of this ship was not small, and was clearly not of a size an ordinary Third Class great force could afford. Only a Second Class great force was qualified to own something like this.
After a while, a disciple from Void Land’s side approached the ship to guide it towards the Void Dock. As soon as the ship was properly berthed, a middle-aged man immediately disembarked, followed by a group of uniformly dressed cultivators with varying degrees of strength.
The middle-aged man had a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm cultivation and wore a light smile on his face. He walked straight to greet Jin Yuan Lang with a cupped fist, “Gathering Yuan Trade Firm, Li Jing Yuan, greets Sir. May I know how we should address Sir?”
Li Jing Yuan could naturally feel Jin Yuan Lang’s Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm aura and his heart shuddered slightly. It seemed it was not just a groundless rumour after all. The sudden rapid rise in numbers of Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters in Void Land seemed quite unbelievable to him; after all, the rise of a great force was not an overnight effort, it had to be accumulated slowly over countless years.
But he was a little convinced after finding out the man who stood guard over the Void Dock here was actually a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. To have a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master guarding their entrance obviously meant there were many more Open Heaven Realm Masters maintaining the operation of this Star City.
The news of the collapse of the Hundred Sect Alliance had spread like wildfire over the past few months, and Void Land’s name had been widely circulated in the 3,000 Worlds ever since. Since Gathering Yuan Trade Firm was a mercantile force that prioritized business, it was naturally well-informed about current events in the Outer Universe.
Jin Yuan Lang’s face was calm as he replied softly, “This King’s surname is Jin.”
Li Jing Yuan quickly responded, “So it’s Sir Jin!”
Jin Yuan Lang looked up at the ship, “This Jin has been entrusted by Sir Sect Master to safe keep this place by inspecting all who pass through our Void Star City’s Void Dock. For the sake of security, I must ask you a few questions and perform some simple checks. Brother Li, please understand.”
Li Jing Yuan smiled, “As you should. We will cooperate with Brother Jin’s inspection.”
Jin Yuan Lang nodded with satisfaction, his expression softening a little, “Sir Sect Master has left an order that anyone who enters the Star City, regardless of their cultivation, must register and report their intentions. Different Jade Tokens will be distributed according to each visitor’s intended length of stay. Is Brother Li planning to just stop by here for supplies or is he planning to stay in the Star City long term?”
Li Jing Yuan pondered for a while, and replied bluntly, “Sir Jin, we, Gathering Yuan Trade Firm, are always searching for business opportunities, following the Dao of Commerce. Our Trade Firm has never been to Void Star City before, so we will need to inquire about the situation here before we decide if we want to stay. I wonder how this will be handled?”
Jin Yuan Lang answered, “That’s simple. I will give you a Jade Token for a short-term stay, valid for one month. After a month, if you wish to continue your stay in the Star City, you need only report to the Governor’s Mansion to renew or upgrade your Jade Token. If you don’t renew your token in time, you may find yourself in trouble with the Star City law enforcement team.”
“Very good!” Li Jing Yuan nodded. He was ordered to come here this time by his Headquarters to one, verify the existence of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills, and two, to inspect the future prospects of Void Star City. If possible, Gathering Yuan Trade Firm would definitely be willing to set up a branch here, but it also depended on whether Void Star City had the potential to develop in the future. If there was no such potential, naturally there was no reason for them to invest in this place.
Meanwhile, Jin Yuan Lang had ordered his subordinates to register the names of everyone from Gathering Yuan Trade Firm and their purpose for visiting. He then issued tokens to each of them.
Li Jing Yuan was pleased and nodded, “Many thanks Sir Jin. Please accept this small token of our respect!” While speaking, he shoved a Space Ring towards him.
Jin Yuan Lang’s brow furrowed slightly before accepting the ring and quietly waving his hand, “Let them pass!”
A crack opened in the Grand Array of the Star City, allowing everyone from Gathering Yuan Trade Firm to pass through.
Watching the group leave, Jin Yuan Lang looked at the Space Ring in his hand and found that there were 300 Open Heaven Pills inside.
After he was entrusted by Yang Kai to guard the Void Dock, Jin Yuan Lang sought out Chen Tian Fei for some advice; after all, it was the first time he had taken up a task like this, and he was really unfamiliar with it. Although Chen Tian Fei’s cultivation was lower than his, he was definitely more experienced than him in this aspect.
Chen Tian Fei had indeed mentioned that the task of guarding the Void Dock was a very profitable one because ‘gifts’ were a normal part of the job. It was likely for visitors to enter and exit more than once, so it was better to form good relationships with the one safekeeping the Void Dock, allowing them to save some trouble in the long run.
Even when the Proprietress took Yang Kai to Thousand Birds Star City for the first time, she did the same thing, so nothing need be said about others.
Jin Yuan Lang did not expect that he would be receiving gifts from the very first visitor…
300 Open Heaven Pills was really nothing to him as a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, but many grains of sand would eventually build a tower, and this was just the beginning.
Just when he was about to distribute the 300 Open Heaven Pills to his subordinates, the lookout disciple shouted again, “Elder Jin, someone else is approaching, and there is more than one ship this time!”
Jin Yuan Lang looked up, and sure enough, he spotted five ships heading in this direction.
…..
Inside the Star City, Li Jing Yuan led a group of people around on a tour of the grounds. To be honest, the scale of Void Star City was indeed not small. If it was well managed and if the population was high enough, it would definitely become a First Class Star City, and this Star City had only just been expanded, so the majority of the shops and lots were still unowned.
For any profit-seeking businessman, this was undoubtedly a good place to flex their muscles.
After a short round of inspection, Li Jing Yuan was already confident that Void Star City had promising prospects. This could not be helped, for the news of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill had already spread far and wide. If they had come here because of that, they certainly would not be the last ones to be attracted. Once more forces began arriving, the popularity of the Star City would not be an issue at all.
Furthermore… Li Jing Yuan could not help but turn his head to look in the direction where a great behemoth, which was Void Land’s Headquarters, was lying in the void.
Rumour had it that Void Land’s Headquarters actually rested on the back of an Ancient Divine Spirit. Many had witnessed this with their own eyes on the day it migrated here, causing a huge commotion.
Since Void Land’s Headquarters had migrated here, it showed that it was determined to build up this Star City. The sooner one grabbed hold of this kind of opportunity, the greater the rewards one could reap. As for the feud between Void Land and other great forces, Li Jing Yuan did not need to worry too much. If war really was initiated, the Star City would not be affected; after all, this was a land of gold, so anyone who planned to usurp this place would not allow it to be destroyed.
Therefore, after only three days of inspection in the Star City, Li Jing Yuan had already made up his mind to set up shop in Void Star City.
He was a Manager at Gathering Yuan Trade Firm and had some decision-making power. As long as this matter was done well, his status in the Trade Firm would also improve.
After just three days, Li Jing Yuan also noticed that a lot more people had arrived in the Star City. The inn where they had been the only occupants was now almost overcrowded.
Most of the inns that were open in the Star City were owned by Void Land. The eight rows of shops reserved by them were dispersed around the Void Auction House, and among these shops, some inns were opened, as well as a couple of restaurants.
Of course, it was not just Void Land’s property that was doing business. Many shopkeepers who had remained in the Star City from before had received new shops in their original spots as compensation and had begun operation hastily. Unfortunately, because of the Star City’s low population, the streets were still quite empty.
Nevertheless, accommodations were a necessity. One could not be expected to sleep on the street every night, which was why all inns were fully booked now. Void Land had opened five inns, but now it seemed that was far from enough.
Many cultivators were even forced to rent the empty cave mansions from the Governor’s Mansion!
A mountain range in the Star City that was no taller than three kilometres, was contributed by Golden Light Dock. Considering that many cultivators would definitely settle in the Star City in the future, it was impossible for them to live in inns every day, so Void Land opened up countless cave mansions in this mountain range. These cave mansions were divided into different categories, and also came with different prices, but all of them were managed directly by the Governor’s Mansion.
When the inns were filled, cultivators who had no place to stay could only rent the cave mansions. The cave mansions had a one-month minimum rental period, and because it was quieter and more private, many flocked to rent such places despite their higher prices.
The operation of the inns and restaurants, as well as the rental of the cave mansions, had already gained Void Land a small fortune in the Star City, and this was just the beginning!
Since the arrival of Gathering Yuan Trade Firm to the Star City, the Void Dock had not had a free moment. All the disciples on duty were exhausted, and because there was only one Void Dock in the entire Void Star City, a long line had formed outside, waiting for entry. No one dared to trespass or cut in line, so they could only wait for Jin Yuan Lang to slowly inspect and register them before allowing them to pass through one by one.
The popularity of Void Star City had soared through the roof, and showed no signs of cooling down anytime soon.
Li Jing Yuan led two attendants to the Governor’s Mansion, and after reporting his intention, was led into a certain Grand Hall.
In the Grand Hall, the Manager in charge of the Void Star City’s properties received him.
The Manager was an Open Heaven Realm Master from Abundance City and a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Master, so Li Jing Yuan dared not underestimate him.
The Manager soon activated a projection, displaying the layout of the shops in the entire Star City.
Li Jing Yuan glanced at this map and pointed to an area that was glowing in green, asking, “Manager Liu, why are these places coloured differently?”
Manager Liu replied, “The green lots represent land that is already occupied. If you wish to open a storefront, please look for the white ones.”
Li Jing Yuan was stunned when he heard the words, [I thought we were already quite fast, how did others get ahead of us?]
He took a closer look at the areas that were highlighted in green and quickly understood that they were the most central and prosperous areas in the Star City.
He suddenly realized that these were the shops reserved by Void Land for itself!
The Star City belonged to Void Land, so it was inevitable for them to keep the best locations for themselves. This was something that would happen in every Star City. Secretly thinking to himself that it was a pity, Li Jing Yuan pointed to where the next best shops were located, “Here, here and here…”
He pointed at more than ten locations in one go, all of which were where the streets met.
Although Li Jing Yuan was a Fourth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he was a businessman after all and had very sharp eyes. Naturally, he could foresee that these more than ten places would be the second most popular places in the Star City in the days to come. Once the stores were in his hands, Gathering Yuan Trade Firm would be able to win the top spot in Void Land, and they would make a steady profit regardless of what kind of businesses they operated in the future.
“I’m sorry, Fellow Brother.” The Manager suddenly interrupted him, “The Governor has decreed that no one can own more than three shops in Void Star City. You have picked too many.”
Li Jing Yuan was taken aback for a moment, “There is such a rule?”
He had been to a lot of Star Cities, but this was the first time he had encountered such a rule. How confident was Void Land to be making such a decision? Were they so sure that the Star City would be so popular in the future that they were already limiting the number of stores one force could occupy in advance?
But after thinking about what he had seen and heard for the past three days, he felt relieved. As long as there were no accidents, Void Star City would indeed become extremely popular.
He pondered for a while, then with a smile on his face, he reached into his sleeve inconspicuously and pulled out a Space Ring. Placing it in front of the Manager quietly, he started, “Sir, we, Gathering Yuan Trade Firm run many types of businesses, so three shops are really not enough. Couldn’t you accommodate another one or two?”
The Manager glanced at the Space Ring on the table, then shook his head slowly, “Forgive me, the Governor has passed down clear orders, I am simply following them.”
“Is there really no other way?” Li Jing Yuan was a little reluctant.
The Manager shook his head without another word.
An idea suddenly struck Li Jing Yuan then and he quickly smiled, “Three shops then.”
He picked out the best three shops from his previous selection then asked eagerly, “How much does it cost to buy these three stores in total?”
The Manager answered, “The shops in the Star City are only for rent, not for sale!”
Li Jing Yuan frowned, “This is the case for all shops?”
“There are no exceptions!”
Li Jing Yuan’s tongue clicked. It was common for the major Star Cities to reserve their good locations, but there would always be some that could be bought and sold. He never thought that none of the shops in Void Star City were for sale at all.
Not wanting to discuss further on this matter, Li Jing Yuan replied shortly, “Then I will rent these three shops.”
The Manager replied, “There are options of ten-year leases and hundred-year leases, the prices differ too. Which one do you want?”
The corners of Li Jing Yuan’s brow twitched.
…..
After a long time, Li Jing Yuan walked out of the Governor’s Mansion feeling a little tired. He had been to many Star Cities and dealt with the people who managed properties numerous times, but he had never encountered a Star City that had policies like Void Star City did.
[They are already positioning themselves in such a manner before the population of Void Star City even gathers. How irritating.]
Moreover, the rental of the shops here was really not cheap, almost 20% more expensive than his original estimates. If it was an ordinary Star City, he would not be willing to splurge, but he was so optimistic about the future potential of Void Star City that he agreed to the conditions and signed the agreement with the Manager.
He originally planned to rent more shops through the hands of his subordinates, but at the moment he gave up on this idea. The rental price of Void Star City’s shops were quite expensive. Although he was optimistic about the development prospects here, he decided to act a bit more cautiously. It would not be a great loss to use three shops to test the waters first.
At least, that was his initial plan…
However, just after two days, he regretted his caution greatly.
That was because, after just a few days, the number of cultivators who had poured into Void Star City was nothing short of a torrent. From a distance, he could see several long lines of flight-type artifacts queuing up at the Void Dock, just waiting to enter the Star City.
The street in front of the Governor’s Mansion was brimming with visitors, and he even saw several familiar faces there, all of whom were Managers of other Trade Companies.
Needless to say, they were there to lease shops.
Li Jing Yuan made up his mind to lease more shops through his subordinates, and entered the Governor’s Mansion. Unfortunately, he found that all the shops with good locations that he had his eyes on before had already been rented out.
The Star City was beginning to get lively.
Since the arrival of Gathering Yuan Trade Firm, thousands of cultivators had been flowing in from all directions, and as time went by, the numbers continued to increase rapidly.
After just a few days, the number of people who were passing through the Void Dock daily exceeded 3,000, and the numbers were climbing rapidly! The dock was so jam-packed that Jin Yuan Lang was beginning to get overwhelmed. He had no choice but to requisition more support!
Yue He reported to Yang Kai immediately after receiving the news, and he naturally did not refuse, sending her to personally bring more disciples to the dock to maintain order.
With the arrival of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a large number of Void Land disciples, the situation at the dock improved slightly.
A few days later, while reporting the situation in the Star City to Yang Kai, Bian Yu Qing became very excited when it came to the matter of the number of cultivators in the Star City, “Sect Master, the number of cultivators who have passed through the dock today alone has exceeded 5,300.”
Yang Kai nodded lightly while he took a sip from his teacup.
Although this situation was expected, he felt relieved by the news of the current progression.
The Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill that was auctioned before was not wasted. With the emergence of this Spirit Pill, and the last sentence Lu Xue said at the end of the auction, there was no need for Void Land to deliberately promote the Star City, for others would naturally spread the news for them.
Once the news spread out, countless people would be attracted.
“What about the Star City? How many people are there now?” Yang Kai asked again.
“Approximately 80,000. Our Star City can accommodate up to 1 million people. At this rate, I’m afraid it will be overcrowded within a few months.”
Yang Kai instructed, “Mo Mei will need to increase the number of patrols and the number of law enforcers in the Star City to prevent troubles that could ruin our reputation. Make sure she understands that those who dare to cause problems in the Star City will not be tolerated.”
Bian Yu Qing smiled, “Protector Mo has already arrested a number of people in the past few days, all of whom have been sent to the dungeon.”
Yang Kai looked up in the direction of the Star City, pondering for a moment, “The auction should have begun by this time, right?”
Bian Yu Qing nodded, “Yes, the auction started about an hour ago, and should be finishing up soon.”
“Who is hosting this time?”
“Manager Yun himself!”
Yang Kai nodded lightly. The last time, he had no choice but to let Lu Xue take up the task. Still, now that the auction house was under Yun Xing Hua’s management, and with him being a far more sociable individual, Yun Xing Hua was a much more suitable candidate to host the auction.
As they were talking, Bian Yu Qing suddenly changed her expression, took out a communication bead, and poured her Divine Sense into it. After a while, she happily reported, “Sect Master, there’s good news.”
Yang Kai almost spat out his tea as his eyes widened, “Tell me!”
Bian Yu Qing giggled, “The auction has ended successfully. The finale item, the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, was sold for 3.5 million Open Heaven Pills, and the total revenue with the rest of the auctioned items came to nearly 8 million Open Heaven Pills!”
Yang Kai almost choked. 3.5 million Open Heaven Pills was far from the true value of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill. Even 10 million was not sufficient for its worth. The reason for the price this time was probably because the cultivators here were still not fully prepared. The price of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill would surely soar again in the next auction, and by that time, the situation in the Star City would begin to stabilize.
As long as Void Land managed the Star City well, there was no need to worry about cultivation resources for its disciples in the future.
After solving the issue with resources for Void Land, the next issue was Yang Kai’s own resource needs.
A Seventh-Order Yin Element treasure… He did not even know where to start looking for one, giving Yang Kai a slight headache.
…..
Shopkeeper Jin and Shopkeeper Tong walked out of Void Auction House absentmindedly. They had participated in this auction mainly for research purposes and witnessed the popularity of the last Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill.
Compared to the first auction three months ago, the auction this time could only be described as brutal. When the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill appeared on the stage, voices screaming bids constantly overlapped each other, and the price climbed so fast that left them both feeling utterly shocked.
“Brother Jin, we truly picked up an enormous bargain.” Shopkeeper Tong spoke solemnly.
If it were not for a coincidental opportunity, how could the two of them obtain a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill for a mere 140,000 Open Heaven Pills? The same Spirit Pill was sold today for 3.5 million Open Heaven Pills, which was dozens of times the price they had paid.
At this point, they no longer doubted the authenticity of the Spirit Pill. Even though they could not recognize it, would all these others not be able to? Besides that, Void Land would never do anything to sabotage their reputation at this critical moment.
“What we need to do now is to find someone to sell the Spirit Pill to as soon as possible. Void Star City is becoming more and more popular, and our shops need funds to operate.”
Shopkeeper Jin replied, “Brother Tong, to tell you the truth, someone contacted me privately yesterday, offering 1 million Open Heaven Pills to buy our Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill!”
“1 million?” Shopkeeper Tong’s eyes widened as he snapped, “He might as well just rob us!”
If he had not participated in today’s auction, 1 million would be enough to impress him, but after witnessing the great struggle for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill, 1 million was clearly not enough to excite him anymore.
Shopkeeper Jin chuckled, “I naturally refused, though I think that more people will be contacting us in the next few days. We should not stray far from each other, so we can talk if we encounter a good opportunity.”
Day after day, a large number of cultivators poured into the Star City, and in less than a month after the end of the second auction, the number of cultivators residing in the Star City had reached 200,000 according to the statistics of the Governor’s Mansion.
Such a number had far exceeded the limit of the previous Void Star City. If Yang Kai had not expanded the scale of the Star City in advance, it would have been extremely cramped.
The more people there were, the more problems would happen; there were people picking fights and provoking trouble every single day. The Star City law enforcement team had also arrested many people, which brought the Star City back to stability again.
The shopkeepers who had fled before also rushed back and gathered before the Governor’s Mansion to protest to get their shop back. Void Land ignored them, but later on had no choice but to send them to the dungeon after they ignored warnings to not cause a public disturbance.
About one-third of all the stores in the Star City had been leased out, and the profit from rent alone was a huge number.
Merchants from near and far had come to rent shops. This further drove the popularity of the Star City. Void Star City was no longer a desolate backwater, and one could buy any goods they looked for and could sell anything they wanted to sell.
Everything was on track.
As long as they could sustain this pace for a year and a half, the Star City could be completely stabilized and form a healthy circulation. By then, there would be no need to worry anymore.
Everyone was waiting for the start of the third auction.
Bian Yu Qing would come every half month to report on the situation of the Star City to Yang Kai at his residing palace, and today was no exception.
“Sect Master, according to the observation of this subordinate, people from the Cave Heavens and Paradises have arrived in the Star City, but have hidden their identities. It’s impossible to identify which Cave Heaven or Paradise they’re from.”
Yang Kai gave a small nod, “The matter regarding the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill is very important, it’s only natural for them to send people to investigate.”
“Then Sect Master… Should we make contact with them?”
Yang Kai shook his head, “Just ignore them. Since they have hidden their identities, they obviously don’t want to reveal themselves. If they really want something, they will naturally come to us… En, was it a pair of Star City shopkeepers who bought the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill in the first auction for 140,000 Open Heaven Pills?”
Bian Yu Qing replied with a smile, “Sect Master is correct. Shopkeeper Jin and Shopkeeper Tong both originally ran small shops, but had no choice but to stay back because they were reluctant to abandon their property, allowing them to pick up a great bargain instead.”
“Send someone to protect them. Be cautious if someone comes in contact with them and wants to buy the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill.”
Bian Yu Qing’s expression changed slightly, “Does Sect Master mean…”
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “No harm being prepared.”
Bian Yu Qing understood and bowed, “Rest assured, Sect Master. Elder Lu promised them before that if they needed help in the sale of Spirit Pill, they could inform Void Land, and we would act as an intermediary. They have no background or backing, so if they really want to sell off the Spirit Pill, they would definitely seek help from Void Land.”
“That’s good. In addition, quietly spread the news that I need a High-Rank Yin Element treasure.”
“Yes!” Bian Yu Qing bowed, “If Sect Master has no other orders, this subordinate will retreat now.”
“Go.” Yang Kai waved his hand.
Bian Yu Qing stepped back respectfully, but turned back as soon as she left.
Yang Kai looked at her, “Is there anything else?”
Bian Yu Qing reported, “Sect Master, I just received news that some of your friends have come to Void Land and want to visit with you.”
“Friends?” Yang Kai raised his brows, “Who?”
“I was told that they’re from Great Moon Province, but I don’t know who they are.”
“Great Moon Province!” Yang Kai’s eyes lit up, suddenly having an idea of who they were, so he immediately called out, “Bring them in!”
“Yes!”
After a while, Yang Kai stood outside his palace with a smile on his face, watching a group of people speeding towards him. When they approached, he took a few steps forward to greet them.
Led by Bian Yu Qing personally, the group landed not far in front of Yang Kai. The leader of the group was a burly man, accompanied by a pretty woman. Both of them were Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. They were Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang from Great Moon Province, whom Yang Kai had met years ago. Behind them stood two men and two women.
All six of them were familiar faces, and many memories flitted through Yang Kai’s mind as his eyes swept across them.
However, they all seemed very reserved. Great Moon Province was only a Third-Class great force, and its leader was only a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. Void Land now possessed the atmosphere of a top-tier Second Class great force, with numerous Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters. It was inevitable for them to feel stressed to be here.
The guests saw Yang Kai, who had come out to greet them, and the older looking man and one of the women were delighted, speeding up their pace a little, but they seemed to remember something a moment later and slowed down slightly.
“Great Moon Province’s Wei Que greets Sect Master Yang!” Wei Que took a step forward, cupped his fist and shouted.
Yang Kai stretched out his hand to hold him up and said with a smile, “Senior Wei, it’s good to see you again.”
Wei Que broke into a grin at the word ‘Senior’, and his stiffened body relaxed a lot.
Yang Kai turned to Tao Rong Fang again, nodding gently, “Senior Tao.”
Tao Rong Fang bowed elegantly, “Sect Master Yang!”
Yang Kai then looked at the two men and two women behind them with a happy smile on his face.
Old Fang too, was smiling, but his smile was a little stiff. Meng Hong on the other hand, who was standing beside him, looked perfectly calm. Meng Hong had been with Yang Kai for over ten years in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, and formed a close friendship with him; therefore, even though Yang Kai was now the owner of a prosperous great force, with powerful subordinates, Meng Hong did not feel too much pressure.
Behind the two were Dié You and Ah Sun. At this moment, Dié You was looking at Yang Kai with a complicated expression. She could not help but recall the days when they all lived together in Seven Wonders Land.
Back then, when the very ground under their feet was still Seven Wonders Land, they lived a life without hope for the future, wasting away their time and resources for trivial Third-Order materials.
Even as a mere Worker, however, Yang Kai was able to find a way to thrive, and now, after years of separation, he was the owner of this land. It was indeed true that capable people were able to achieve more than what ordinary people could.
Old Fang was grinning, he did not know what to say. Before coming here, he thought about what to say to Yang Kai when they met, but was really intimidated by the prosperity of the Star City and the strength of Void Land when he arrived.
Yang Kai took two steps forward, and gave Old Fang a hearty bear hug while Old Fang continued to gaze at him dumbfounded, giving him a huge pat on the back, “I haven’t seen you for many years, Old Fang, you’re looking older than ever!”
Old Fang’s initially stiff body immediately twitched and he shouted angrily, “Nonsense, despite this Old Master’s age, he is still as mighty as a Dragon and fierce as a Tiger, how am I getting old!?”
Yang Kai’s warm welcome had made him forgo his embarrassment and anxiety. He chuckled and shook his head, “You brat…”
Yang Kai let go of him, turned to Dié You and Ah Sun with open arms, “You two on the other hand have grown even more beautiful!”
Dié You blushed and swerved away, glaring at Yang Kai. Ah Sun foolishly wanted to lean forward and accept the embrace, but Dié You hurriedly grabbed her and snapped, “He’s trying to take advantage of you, you silly girl.”
Ah Sun suddenly realized, then made a face at Yang Kai as she shouted, “My Master is here, be careful or she’ll beat you up!”
To the side, Tao Rong Fang laughed dryly. Given that Yang Kai’s identity was different now and she was just a Third-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, how would she dare to make a move against him in Void Land? If her Disciple was really taken advantage of, all she could do was to pretend not to see it.
“It’s just a hug, you won’t lose anything!” Yang Kai complained, “Look how generous Old Fang was.”
“Bah!” Dié You spat, “He’s an old man, how can he be the same as us?”
Old Fang was suddenly upset, “Who’s an old man!?”
The group quarreled noisily, and the atmosphere suddenly became harmonious. The previous respect and caution was longer present. Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang exchanged glances, grateful that Yang Kai had deliberately broken the ice between them.
It seemed that their trip here was not a mistake. Even though Yang Kai now held a lofty position, he never despised them for their weakness, and all the previous worries had vanished.
“Brother Meng!” Yang Kai saluted to Meng Hong again.
Meng Hong saluted back, “Brother Yang!”
Meng Hong was quite likeable, and one of the three Mid-Rank World Fruits Yang Kai had was given to him by Meng Hong. In the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary, Meng Hong received much help and protection from Yang Kai, allowing him and the other Great Moon Province disciples to remain unscathed. The Mid-Rank World Fruit was Meng Hong’s way of thanking Yang Kai.
However, only one out of the three Mid-Rank World Fruits were left. One of them was given to Yue He to help her advance to the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, and another was given to Lu Xue for her advancement to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm.
“You have travelled far. Let’s talk inside.” Yang Kai ushered them in warmly, and turned to instructed Bian Yu Qing, “Prepare a banquet. Today, I won’t go home unless I’m drunk with these old friends!”
“Yes!” Bian Yu Qing saluted elegantly and left immediately.
After a while, in the Main Hall, wine flowed freely and cups went gaily round, making for a lively atmosphere. Yang Kai, Old Fang, Ah Sun, and Die You were all Workers in Seven Wonders Land previously. Everyone reminisced sadly as they looked back on the days when it seemed that they would never see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Who would have thought they could ever escape Seven Wonders Land? Perhaps only Yang Kai, who had been planning his escape since the first day he entered Seven Wonders Land.
Old Fang and Dié You had been enslaved by Seven Wonders Land for hundreds of years, and if it was not for Yang Kai, who threw everything into chaos and finally led them to escape, they would not have been able to ever have a new life.
But now, the once Worker of the land was the overlord of Void Land, leader of over 300 Open Heaven Realm Masters, and even the owner of a thriving Star City that was renowned throughout the 3,000 Worlds.
Although Old Fang and the others did not have grand accomplishments like Yang Kai did, they were still doing pretty well in Great Moon Province. At the very least, there was hope for the future, and the days were no longer as dark as they used to be.
Yang Kai’s, Old Fang’s, and the others’ voices and laughter resounded endlessly in the banquet hall. Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang looked at each other secretly, feeling relieved. They had come here by the orders of the Leader of Great Moon Province to make a request.
They were initially a little worried about whether it would go well, but now it seemed that the two of them were unnecessarily anxious.
Yang Kai was obviously someone who cherished old friendships. In this case, the matter regarding Great Moon Province’s request should not be difficult. However, it was not a good time to bring it up, so they could only wait for an opportunity.
But who could have imagined that the owner of Void Land, the man who destroyed the Hundred Sect Alliance and killed off more than 10,000 thousand with a single order, the one who beheaded a mighty Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, Heavenly Sword Union’s Union Master, Kong Feng, would be such a genial person?
Previously, the Hundred Sect Alliance was led by Heavenly Sword Union to besiege Void Land but instead had the tables turned on them. When they received such news, Great Moon Province found it hard to believe them. Even though they had learned that Yang Kai had occupied Seven Wonders Land, renamed it Void Land, and became its new owner, the Hundred Sect Alliance was formidable, not to mention that it had several Second-Class great forces such as Heavenly Sword Union in it.
After confirming from various sources that the information was true, Great Moon Province was greatly shaken.
Old Fang and the others had wanted to come and provide help. Although their strength was limited, they had gone through life or death together with Yang Kai. Back then, when Yang Kai was pursued by many great forces after robbing the Golden Crow corpse and hiding in First Inn, they had no choice but to follow Wei Que to Great Moon Province. They still felt guilty because of that.
They felt as though they had abandoned Yang Kai.
It was only natural that they felt uneasy when they learned that Yang Kai was in trouble.
However, Void Land had become famous through this battle. Later, when it was reported that the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill had appeared in Void Star City, the Leader of Great Moon Province agreed to Old Fang’s and the others’ request and ordered Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang to be their escorts.
It may appear that they were just going to escort Old Fang and the others to Void Land, but in fact, Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang had another task.
After three rounds of drinks, Yang Kai asked Old Fang and the others about their cultivation.
Old Fang took a gulp of wine, wiped his mouth, and replied with a chuckle, “This Old Master is just an old man, I don’t want to fuss around anymore. It’s already not bad to achieve the Third-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future, but Xiao You and the others used the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water that you gave them to wipe clean the Powers in their Dao Seals and have started cultivating from the beginning again.”
After leaving the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary and occupying Seven Wonders Land, Yang Kai sent Meng Hong to provide Old Fang and the others some cultivation resources, including the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water and complete sets of Fifth-Order Heaven Realm materials.
However, one needed great will and daring to use the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water. Old Fang had low ambitions and was already quite old. He might just die if he pushed himself too much. As such, he simply accepted his fate. Although Third-Order Open Heaven Realm was a lower starting point, as long as one worked hard over time, they still had hope to advance to the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm, it would just take a little longer.
However, with the combination of Meng Hong’s example and experience and their own careful consideration, it seemed that Dié You and Ah Sun had chosen to use the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water to cleanse their Dao Seals, and restarted their cultivation.
Now both of them were condensing the Fifth-Order Elements, with the hopes that they could directly achieve the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm in the future! Their starting point would be much higher than that of Old Fang’s, and their road ahead would thus stretch further.
Wei Que and Tao Rong Fang were a little worried about the dangers they might encounter while advancing to the Open Heaven Realm in the future; after all, although both of their aptitudes were good, condensing Fifth-Order Powers was still quite risky.
Since Yang Kai was someone who cherished old friendships dearly though, he would not ignore them. Now that the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was auctioned here in Void Land, it should not be a problem to get two to help with their advancement.
Yang Kai turned to look at Dié You and Ah Sun and although he did not know how much suffering the two had gone through, he could imagine that it would not be far off from what happened to Meng Hong when he took the Tai Yi Soul Cleansing Water previously.
After pondering for a while, Yang Kai turned to address Wei Que, “Senior Wei, this Junior has a request that he wonders if Senior would agree to.”
Wei Que hurriedly sat up straight and replied sternly, “Sect Master Yang, please speak freely. I, Wei Que, will never refuse as long as I’m capable.”
The only reason Yang Kai called him Senior was because of his friendship with Old Fang and the others, so Wei Que did not dare to show a trace of arrogance. The handsome young man before him was capable of killing over 10,000 cultivators; he was the one who annihilated the Hundred Sect Alliance with a single order and was the one who personally cut off the head of a Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Wei Que was aware that his own Great Moon Province was not even worthy of carrying Heavenly Sword Union’s shoes.
Yang Kai proceeded, “Enemies targeted our Void Land recently, and the Star City faced a major downturn. Now that we have achieved a great victory, it is time to focus on raising our Star City’s popularity. Since you are already here, this Yang hopes you will not leave too quickly. I would like to ask Senior to continue his stay in the Star City. I can allocate a few shops to Great Moon Province. No matter what business Great Moon Province does, it will be of great help to me.”
Wei Que gasped and stood up quickly, his face turning red, “Sect Master Yang, t-t-this is…”
The mission given to him and Tao Rong Fang by their Leader was to obtain a shop in Void Star City, one shop. Great Moon Province was not a very accomplished or ambitious Sect, while Void Star City’s popularity was rising at an astonishing rate. If one could secure even a single stall here and run some small businesses, it could be a great help to maintain one’s livelihood and sustain the cultivation needs of one’s Disciples.
Wei Que was still pondering how to bring this issue up with Yang Kai, so he never thought that Yang Kai would take the initiative to mention it.
In all honesty, what could they do to help Void Land? Yang Kai was only phrasing it this way to give them face. They passed by the Star City before arriving here, and it was clearly overflowing with vitality while all the shops were doing very well. Why would Void Lan need a trivial Great Moon Province to help?
Yang Kai had long seen their intention of coming here…
Wei Que was now thoroughly embarrassed.
Yang Kai smiled, “Or does Senior Wei think that Void Star City is facing a bleak future? If so, I won’t insist.”
“That is absolutely not true, Sect Master Yang.” Wei Que flailed his arms wildly as he hurriedly stated, “Being able to stay in Void Star City is exactly what Great Moon Province wished for, and if that’s the case, I would like to thank Sect Master Yang for his deep kindness.”
He then cupped his fist solemnly.
Yang Kai nodded and turned to Bian Yu Qing, who was sitting next to him, “Go back to the Governor’s Mansion to make arrangements. Have the Manager in charge of the Star City shops to reserve five premium located stores under Great Moon Province’s name.”
Bian Yu Qing was slightly startled, but quickly replied, “Yes, Sect Master rest assured, I’ll see to it right away!”
Reserving shops under the name of Great Moon Province meant that ownership itself would be transferred to them, not leased. In other words, these five stores would belong exclusively to Great Moon Province in the future, and would no longer belong to Void Land.
Wei Que obviously understood the meaning of this, and exclaimed involuntarily, “Sect Master Yang, how could we possibly accept such generosity!? Five is too many for Great Moon Province, one is enough…”
Great Moon Province was a mere Third Class great force, so it was not an exaggeration that they would not know what to do with five shops. It was just as Wei Que said, one shop was plenty.
Yang Kai raised his hand, “Say no more, Senior Wei. These five shops will be entrusted to you, whether Great Moon Province chooses to do business with them or lease them out, it will be for you to decide. Old Fang and the others are dear friends of mine, and Brother Meng and I have faced many life-and-death tribulations together in the Grand Ancient Ruins Boundary. On top of that, Brother Meng even gifted me an incredibly precious treasure. These trivial five shops are nothing compared to such things.”
How could Wei Que refuse after what Yang Kai had said? With no other choice, he cupped fists and bowed his head deeply, “Many thanks, Sect Master Yang!
However, he was still a little puzzled, [What did Meng Hong give to Yang Kai that could be called an ‘incredibly precious treasure’…?] However, now was not the right time to ask, so he could only suppress his curiosity.
Yang Kai was not just trying to be polite; after all, how could a mere five shops compare to a Mid-Rank World Fruit? Not to mention five, even fifty shops would still pale in comparison! That was a treasure that could help a Mid-Rank Open Heaven Realm Master directly advance by a whole Order, and would even increase their lifetime limit by an Order. Such a treasure would even be of extreme interest to High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters!
It was not that Yang Kai was reluctant to give more shops to Great Moon Province, but he was also aware of Great Moon Province’s limitations, it was useless to give them more shops and would only attract the greed of others, causing more harm than good.
When the banquet ended, the members of Great Moon Province left, with Bian Yu Qing personally leading them to the Governor’s Mansion in the Star City to select the locations of their five new shops.
The news that the owner of Void Land required a High-Rank Yin Element treasure spread out quietly. Yang Kai hoped that someone would secretly come to him to trade, but no one approached even after waiting for a long time, though some people did come to give information of places where he might find High-Rank Yin Element treasures.
Yang Kai sent subordinates to inquire about the credibility of this information, but the results were disappointing. Most people just made fraudulent reports in the hopes of gaining some benefits, while the ones who did provide legitimate possibilities only did so for places Void Land could not confirm or even approach, so the matter was left to drift.
Yang Kai sighed, it seemed that High-Rank Yin Element treasures were only accessible by the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
As time passed, the number of people residing in the Star City reached as high as 500,000. Such a scale had already surpassed the limits of a Second Class Star City and it was steadily developing into a First Class one.
On the eve of the third auction, another old friend came to visit.
After receiving the report from Bian Yu Qing, Yang Kai ordered her to be shown in.
In the reception hall, Yang Kai smiled as he watched a great beauty sashay in, “Senior Sister Qu!”
Qu Hua Shang smiled enchantingly, her eyes radiating an intense charm. As her lashes fluttered lightly, she asked sweetly, “Junior Brother Yang, have you been thinking of me?”
Bian Yu Qing, who brought her in, glanced at Qu Hua Shang with a strange expression, but quickly lowered her eyes again.
Yang Kai half choked, half laughed, thinking to himself, [This enchantress is still so unfiltered with her words].
He was about to tease her in return when suddenly his expression changed. With a raised brow he asked, “Has Senior Sister advanced to the Open Heaven Realm?”
At this moment, a World Force aura was lingering around Qu Hua Shang, but it seemed that she had just broken through so her cultivation had not been completely stabilized yet, so she was not able to withdraw her aura freely.
“Thanks to Junior Brother, this Senior Sister was fortunate enough to break through after leaving the Blood Monster Cave Heaven.” Qu Hua Shang covered her lips and giggled.
Yang Kai suddenly recalled something. This seductress told him before that she was cultivating the Heartless Dao. If she wanted to advance to the Open Heaven Realm, she had to fall in love with someone and then cut ties with that love.
At that time, she had told him frankly that he was the one who she chose to fall in love with and give up the love she had for him.
They went through dire situations together and supported each other throughout the Blood Monster Cave Heaven. Being alone together, even a man like Yang Kai who had seen plenty of beauties could not help feeling some fondness for Qu Hua Shang. However, due to various reasons, he did not want to overstep his boundaries. However, Qu Hua Shan had apparently already fallen in love along the way.
It was easy to fall in love, but not so much to cut ties.
Now that Qu Hua Shang has advanced to Open Heaven Realm, it meant that she has successfully given up her love, but Yang Kai had no idea how she had done it and was still standing here in front of him, flirting so casually.
Obviously, Yin-Yang Cave Heaven should have some special methods. Whatever the case was, Yang Kai was truly happy that she had advanced to the Open Heaven Realm, and he immediately cupped his fist with a smile, “Congratulations, Senior Sister. Having the Sixth-Order Open Heaven as your starting point, Senior Sister’s name will surely resound throughout the 3,000 Worlds in the future.”
Qu Hua Shang pouted, “What’s there to congratulate? This Senior Sister’s heart is hurting so bad. If you don’t believe me, you can feel it yourself!” After saying so, she puffed her chest out and leaned towards Yang Kai.
Bian Yu Qing’s head was lowered so far by now that it was like she wanted to bury her head in the ground.
Yang Kai could not stand it any longer and hastily took two steps back.
“Ahem, ahem…” A soft cough suddenly came from beside him, and a somewhat familiar voice followed after, “This Old Master is not dead yet. If the two of you are going to flirt, can you please not do it in front of this old man? This old man is getting old and his Blood Qi is not so strong anymore, the stimulation isn’t good for me.”
Yang Kai turned to look at him, “You are…”
Qu Hua Shang did not come alone. She was accompanied by another person covered in black clothes, making it difficult to make out the body, appearance, or even gender of this individual.
But as soon as Yang Kai heard the voice, he could tell that the person was a man, and he should be quite elderly.
Moreover, Yang Kai felt that he should have met this person before; otherwise, the voice would not have sounded familiar.
The man lifted his hood, revealing an old face with a slight smile. He cupped his fist, “Sect Master Yang, we meet again.”
Yang Kai pondered for a while, then suddenly asked, “Old Zhou?”
This elderly man was obviously the Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from Asura Cave Heaven. His surname was Zhou, and that was all Yang Kai knew about his name. He only knew Old Zhou because he was the person in charge of the Asura Arena in Thousand Birds Star City.
The last time Yang Kai went to Thousand Birds Star City in search of the Proprietress, he was forced by Yu Luo Sha, a Core Disciple of Asura Cave Heaven, to participate in a bout in the Asura Arena against her. In that battle, Yang Kai bet 100 million Open Heaven Pills on himself, and won a fortune with the 10:1 odds against him. In the end, it was Old Zhou who came forward and handed over his prize. At that time, Old Zhou also compensated Yang Kai an extra 150 million with an agreement that he would never set foot in any Asura Arena again in the future.
Yang Kai could truly be called invincible below the Open Heaven Realm. Even Yu Luo Sha was beaten by him in a single move. With such a display, Old Zhou really had no choice but to make such a proposal.
There was no way Yang Kai would not want to gain benefits without any cost. In addition to that, Old Zhou also revealed that some Cave Heavens and Paradises were targeting him, so it was a good trade.
Facts had proven that what Old Zhou said was right, the tree that rises above the forest would be the first one toppled by the wind. In the Blood Monster Cave Heaven, Yang Kai was targeted by many disciples from various Cave Heavens and Paradises, especially Pei Wen Xuan from Myriad Demon Heaven and Yin Xin Zhao from Xuan Yuan Cave Heaven, both of whom repeatedly tried to kill him.
Yang Kai did not expect that the person who came to Void Land with Qu Hua Shang was actually Old Zhou. He had always thought it was some Master from Yin Yang Heaven who was sent to protect Qu Hua Shang.
Now that he thought about it though, this situation made more sense. Now that Qu Hua Shang was a Sixth-Order Master, despite not having full control of her strength, there were not many left in this world who could threaten her. All the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters were old monsters, so who would embarrass a Junior for nothing?
Yang Kai was of course an exception. He stood out too much and represented a future threat that forced two High-Rank Open Heaven Realm Masters to secretly establish the Hundred Sect Alliance. In the end, these two Masters were forced to act personally, but were ultimately deterred by two Divine Spirits.
“Why is Old Zhou here instead of tending to Thousand Birds Star City’s Asura Arena? And with Senior Sister Qu too, for what reason have you come today?” Yang Kai asked suspiciously.
Qu Hua Shang replied, “This Senior Sister met Manager Zhou right outside Void Land. We didn’t make any arrangements in advance. Manager Zhou asked me to help bring him in, probably because he had something to discuss with Junior Brother Yang.”
The people of the Cave Heavens and Paradises were more or less allies. Qu Hua Shang had also been to Thousand Birds Star City, so she naturally recognized Manager Zhou. Qu Hua Shang could not refuse if Manager Zhou made such a request, and it wasn’t a big deal anyway. Yang Kai would not blame her for this, so she made the decision on her own.
Manager Zhou smiled slightly, “This Old Master is here to discuss something with Sect Master Yang.”
Yang Kai’s eyes flashed before replying with a smile, “Please come in and talk.”
They were guests after all, so Yang Kai could not let them stand outside forever, that would be quite rude.
The two of them entered while Bian Yu Qing made arrangements for the maidservants to serve fruit and tea before leaving.
After taking a few sips of tea and saying a few pleasantries, Manager Zhou got down to business, “This Old Master is here on the orders from the Master Sect. There are two things for which we would like to partner with Void Land.”
Yang Kai raised his eyebrows, “Partner?”
“Indeed!” Manager Zhou nodded.
Yang Kai played with the teacup in his hand and asked, “Didn’t Old Zhou hear about the battle that happened in Void Land recently? The Hundred Sect Alliance suddenly ambushed us, and Void Land was forced to fight back. The battle resulted in over 10,000 casualties, including countless Open Heaven Realm Masters. Various Cave Heavens and Paradises are already openly targeting me. Are you not afraid that you might upset others if Asura Cave Heaven does business with me?”
Manager Zhou chuckled, “Even Sect Master Yang said that it was the Hundred Sect Alliance that invaded your Void Land. It has nothing to do with the Cave Heavens and Paradises.”
Yang Kai looked at him with a half-smile.
Manager Zhou shifted his gaze uncomfortably before lightly clearing his throat, “Sect Master Yang is a worldly man, there’s no need to state things so bluntly. The Hundred Sect Alliance seemingly had the upper hand, and they knew well about your Void Land, but still ended up in a disastrous defeat. Even Kong Feng was captured in the end; otherwise, those two would not have shown up rashly.”
Yang Kai replied lightly, “Does Manager Zhou mean that my Void Land should have been breached and all of our 600,000 disciples living here should have been ruthlessly exterminated?”
Manager Zhou noticed his displeased expression then quickly added, “Sect Master Yang is too serious, this Old Master did not mean to imply that.”
Yang Kai softly snorted.
Manager Zhou continued solemnly, “What this Old Master meant to say was that even the Hundred Sect Alliance couldn’t defeat Void Land, and unless the Cave Heavens and Paradises take action themselves, no one can do anything to Void Land in the 3,000 Worlds. Now Void Land even has two Divine Spirits protecting it, with one of them being Bi Xi, who has lived for countless millennia. One would have to gather at least five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters if they wanted to take down Void Land without suffering disastrous losses.”
[Has Bi Xi’s identity been exposed?] Yang Kai’s heart clenched; however, it was not surprising when he thought about it. It was not something that could be hidden any longer after so many people witnessed Void Land’s blatant migration.
“It doesn’t mean that the Cave Heavens and Paradises are not capable of dispatching such a lineup. Every Cave Heaven and Paradise has extraordinary heritage, so which one of them does not have at least a few Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters? It’s just that those Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters have long since stopped caring about worldly affairs, and are always cultivating in retreat. They will not show up unless a true disaster appears. So it’s essentially impossible to gather five Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.” Manager Zhou explained eloquently, “So Sect Master Yang, as long as Void Land does not threaten the existence of any Cave Heaven or Paradise, there will be no more worries. No one would dare to attack Void Land again.”
Yang Kai smiled slightly, “So is that why Asura Cave Heaven wants to partner with me?”
Manager Zhou replied sternly, “Void Land is also qualified to partner with my Asura Cave Heaven.”
Yang Kai pondered for a while b efore nodding, “What does Asura Cave Heaven want to partner with me on?”
Manager Zhou answered, “Sect Master Yang has been to the Asura Arena, so you should know that it is my Asura Cave Heaven’s biggest source of income and one of its most important training facilities. All other First Class Star Cities have their own Asura Arenas, even some Second Class Star Cities have Asura Arenas. Now that Void Star City is so popular and it is still continuing to rise, Asura Cave Heaven naturally doesn’t want to miss out on such an opportunity, so the Master Sect has sent this Old Master here to build an Asura Arena!”
“I see. So that’s the proposal!” Yang Kai nodded lightly.
Yang Kai has experienced the popularity of the Asura Arena. As a place that used violence to solve all matters, the Asura Arena was a good place for hot-tempered cultivators with grievances that could not be resolved with words, or for blood-thirsty cultivators who were hindered by various rules to vent out their frustrations.
That was the reason why the Asura Arena was so well-liked.
When Void Star City was rebuilt and the new Governor’s Mansion established, the law enforcement team were deployed and anyone who dared to start a quarrel or stir up trouble would all be quickly suppressed and captured.
In this way, although the order of the Star City could be maintained, grudges and grievances would inevitably rise up in the long run.
Some things were better to be allowed to happen than to be prevented. If an Asura Arena was built in the Star City, it would be a good place to settle such issues and for those who liked to cause trouble to vent.
Furthermore, the existence of the Asura Arena could definitely enhance the popularity of the Star City and drive its development even further.
This was a win-win situation for Void Land and Asura Heaven.
Yang Kai had no reason to disagree.
So after just a moment of contemplation, Yang Kai nodded and agreed, “This Yang is glad that Asura Cave Heaven is willing to build an Asura Arena in my Void Star City, but Void Land will need to participate in this venture.”
Manager Zhou frowned, “What does Sect Master Yang mean?”
Yang Kai replied, “The land required for the Asura Arena will be provided by Void Land free of rent or taxes, but Void Land will require 30% of the profits made!”
Manager Zhou gaped at him but quickly smiled, “Sect Master Yang, isn’t your appetite a little too big?”
If the Star City was a goose that laid golden eggs, the auction house and Asura Arena would be the biggest and heaviest eggs.
The auction house was independently operated by Void Land, and no one else could intervene at all. It was the one and only auction house in the entire Void Star City, and Void Land was still not satisfied and wanted to intervene in the Asura Arena too? This was an extraordinarily large appetite.
Yang Kai chuckled, “Is it that big? I don’t think so. Old Zhou is a sensible person. My Void Star City has only been established for a trivial few months, yet it has already become so popular and is far from reaching its peak. One can imagine what the future will be like. Millions of cultivators will flow through this city regularly, and Asura Cave Heaven building an Asura Arena in my Star City would be equivalent to planting a tree that grows leaves of money here. Void Land will provide you with the venue, free of rent, free of tax, for just a 30% share of the profits. This deal is more than fair!”
Manager Zhou frowned as he spoke, “Sect Master Yang, Asura Arena is one of the most important industries of my Asura Cave Heaven, and there is no room for any mistakes. Can you change the conditions?”
Yang Kai shook his head slowly, “Old Zhou, don’t tell me that no other great force takes a share of the Asura Arena’s profits in other cities! As far as I know, Great Battle Heaven takes a significant share of the profits earned by the Asura Arena in Thousand Birds Star City, yes? Why is it that Great Battle Heaven is cut in but my Void Land isn’t? Is it because my Void Land is not good enough for Asura Cave Heaven?”
Old Zhou hurriedly answered, “Sect Master Yang is too serious. This Old Master never said as such!” Although he was a Manager from Asura Cave Heaven and also a Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, he did not dare to be offensive in the slightest inside Void Land. This was the place where hundreds of Open Heaven Realm Masters recently died, and with two mature Divine Spirits keeping watch, who dared to underestimate Void Land?
No other Second Class great force could make someone like Manager Zhou set his pride aside like this.
After pondering for a while, Old Zhou offered, “Sect Master Yang is right, many other great forces do share profits of the Asura Arenas, but no one has ever taken 30%. Even Great Battle Heaven only gets 20% of the profits from the Asura Arena in Thousand Birds Star City. How about this, this Old Master will offer Void Land 10%, does that sound good?”
“30%, nothing less!” Yang Kai shook his head slowly.
Old Zhou smiled bitterly, “Sect Master Yang, such a price is unreasonable. 30% is really non-negotiable.”
Yang Kai flicked off imaginary dust on his clothes and smiled, “I only intend to allow Asura Cave Heaven to establish an Asura Arena in this Star City because the name of Asura Arena is well known, making it convenient for advertisement. But even without the Asura Arena, I can well build a similar venue on my own in this Star City, with a similar name, like Blood Arena, what do you think?”
Old Zhou’s face twitched slightly, completely speechless.
Then again, if Yang Kai really planned to build a ‘Blood Arena’ and completely cut out Asura Cave Heaven, there was really nothing they could do.
Asura Cave Heaven was one of the 36 Cave Heavens, so the existence or loss of a single Asura Arena did not matter much to the Master Sect, but it meant a great deal to Manager Zhou, who was just a trivial Manager. The matter could bring him a lot of benefits, so it was not something he could just ignore.
After a while of careful consideration, Manager Zhou spoke, “30% is really too much. This Old Master can’t make such a decision on his own and will need to consult his superiors. But if Sect Master Yang can agree to another condition, this Old Master can guarantee that the Master Sect will agree to this proposal.”
“Another condition?” Yang Kai raised his eyebrows slightly.
Manager Zhou smiled, “This is the second matter this Old Master is here to discuss with Sect Master Yang.”
Yang Kai gestured for him to continue.
Manager Zhou coughed lightly, “I heard that your noble Sect has auctioned two Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills in recent months. I was wondering if that was true or not?”
Yang Kai knew that this old guy was really here for the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills, so his expression remained unchanged as he snickered silently to himself. After waiting for such a long time, it seemed things were finally getting started.
Yang Kai nodded lightly, “En, Void Land did auction two Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills!”
Manager Zhou’s expression brightened, “And, it was said that the Void Auction House will host an auction every three months from now on, where a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill will be auctioned.”
“Correct!”
Manager Zhou’s eyes sparkled a little as he asked, “So, does that mean that your noble Sect is capable of refining this lost ancient pill? Could it be that your noble Sect has found a source of World Source Liquid?”
When he asked the question, Qu Hua Shang, who had been silent all the time, also had her beautiful eyes flash as she stared eagerly at Yang Kai.
Yang Kai smiled without answering.
Manager Zhou continued, “Before the Blood Monster Cave Heaven opened, Red Clouds Auction House once auctioned a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill and the recipe for this pill. As far as I know, those items were won by Sect Master Yang, but the Spirit Pill was exchanged for a Seventh-Order Primordial Yang Profound Ginseng with an Elder from Sword Pavilion, while the pill recipe was left… But according to the recipe, World Source Liquid was required to refine this Spirit Pill, and World Source Liquid has long since disappeared from the 3,000 Worlds. Now that Void Land is able to take out a Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill every three months for auction, it could only mean that Void Land had found a way to obtain World Source Liquid. There is no other explanation for why so many rare Spirit Pills could be auctioned.”
The extinction of the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill was because of the extinction of World Source Liquid. It was a treasure that was formed by chance when a new World was born. Where could it be found now?
This situation was inevitable, and Yang Kai had already expected this would happen when he decided to use the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill to help bolster the popularity of his Star City.
Taking a sip of his tea, Yang Kai smiled, “Blood Monster Divine Monarch left many good things behind inside the Blood Monster Divine Palace, including some World Source Liquid.”
Manager Zhou looked at him hesitantly, not sure if he should believe him. However, obviously, the timing fit. Yang Kai obtained the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill and its pill recipe before the Blood Monster Cave Heaven opened, and the Spirit Pill was only first auctioned in the Star City after the Blood Monster Cave Heaven collapsed. It was entirely possible that Yang Kai really got World Source Liquid from Blood Monster Cave Heaven.
Yang Kai moved the conversation forward with a smile, “Does Asura Cave Heaven also need this Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill?”
Manager Zhou replied, “Who wouldn’t want such a Spirit Pill? I’m afraid that many from the Cave Heavens and Paradises have quietly entered Void Star City, waiting for the next auction. Don’t tell me that you, Sect Master Yang, are unaware of this.”
It did not matter for the other Cave Heavens and Paradises whether they snuck in or announced their presence, but it was different for Asura Cave Heaven. If they really wanted to build an Asura Arena here, they would have to show up sooner or later. The Asura Arena was a symbol of Asura Cave Heaven, and that was the reason Manager Zhou visited Yang Kai.
However, he had no idea what Yang Kai’s impression towards the Cave Heavens and Paradises were after the previous battle, so he asked Qu Hua Shang to help bring him in.
Just in case he got rejected by Yang Kai after notifying him of his visit.
Yang Kai put down the tea cup and asked bluntly, “How many does Asura Cave Heaven need?”
Manager Zhou chuckled, “The more the better, of course.”
Yang Kai burst out laughing, “Does Old Zhou think that the Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills are cabbages? If I hadn’t needed financial resources for Void Land and needed to build up my Star City, I would never have sold a single Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pill to the public. These are very rare, and I don’t have much World Source Liquid on hand, so it will run out from refining some of these Spirit Pills.”
Manager Zhou nodded in reply, “This Old Master understands that. How about this? If Sect Master Yang sells 10 of these Spirit Pills to Asura Cave Heaven, this Old Master will guarantee Sect Master Yang’s request regarding the Asura Arena is granted!”
“10? Manager Zhou sure does know how to open his mouth wide!” Yang Kai’s face stiffened.
Manager Zhou chuckled heartily, “We will never take advantage of Void Land, we will offer 8 million for each Spirit Pill. What do you say?”
Yang Kai nodded, “The price is very fair, but 10 is really too many, Void Land doesn’t have such a quantity.”
The look on Yang Kai’s face showed Manager Zhou that he was probably pushing a little too hard; of course, if he knew that Yang Kai had given Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills to people trying to advance to the Second-Order Open Heaven Realm, he would have coughed up ten mouthfuls of blood and died on the spot. These extremely coveted Spirit Pills really weren’t treated much differently than cabbages in Void Land.
“If 10 is too many, 8 will do, no fewer.”
“3 pieces max!”
Manager Zhou was a little speechless, “3 is just too few, Sect Master Yang is too stingy!”
Yang Kai replied sternly, “I’m not stingy, I really can’t come up with more.”
Manager Zhou urged further, “… How about 5?”
Yang Kai tapped the armrest of the chair lightly and pondered for a long time before he spoke, “Since Manager Zhou has made a proposition, allow me to make a counter-offer. If Manager Zhou can agree to this condition, I don’t even want the 30% share from the Asura Arena. Not only that, I will also give you the 5 Heavenly Yuan Seal Stabilizing Pills free of charge!”
Manager Zhou’s face became excited at the words, “What is it that Sect Master Yang wants?”
Yang Kai raised a finger, “A High-Rank Yin Element treasure!”
The excitement on Manager Zhou’s face was immediately replaced by bitterness, as he muttered embarrassedly, “Sect Master Yang, aren’t you intentionally making things difficult?”
Yang Kai replied, “Asura Cave Heaven runs many industries and has existed for aeons, a single High-Rank Yin Element treasure is surely just a drop in the bucket for you. How is asking for one making things difficult?”
“Sect Master Yang should know that what this Old Master referred to was not the value of this High-Rank material.” Manager Zhou replied exasperatedly. After a pause, he continued, “Since Ancient Times, despite the 36 Cave Heavens and 72 Paradises having occasional disputes, we have always been generally united, especially regarding certain sensitive issues. Now that Void Land is guarded by two Divine Spirits, I’m afraid no one would be interested in provoking it anymore, but that doesn’t mean that some people will condone Sect Master Yang’s direct advancement to the High-Rank Open Heaven Realm. If they really find out that we, Asura Cave Heaven, provided you with a High-Rank Yin Element treasure, how will Asura Cave Heaven keep its foothold in the 3,000 Worlds in the future?”
Having said this, he persuaded earnestly again, “Sect Master Yang is truly a dragon amongst men, but you should take a step back and endure for a while. Why bother taking the risk of challenging the Ancient Order of the 3,000 Worlds? With Sect Master Yang’s aptitude, even if you achieve the Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm, you will still be able to soar. It’s better to follow the current than swim against the river.”
Yang Kai snorted at the words, “Whose order? What current? I, Yang Kai, entered this vast universe only concerned about my own cultivation. I have never sought trouble with or offended others intentionally, so I will not allow others to stand in the way of my Grand Dao!”